Notes:

• The three game stars, in order: Iginla, McElhinney, Richards
• Stars were 0-5 on the power play and 3-4 on the penalty kill. Once again, they did not capitalize on a lengthy 5-on-3.
• Dallas gave up their one-goal lead with 50 seconds left in regulation. They then failed to kill off a bad penalty in overtime, resulting in the 3-2 OTL.
• The Stars outshot the Flames 40-23 but were outhit 36-25.
• Tom Wandell led the team in takeaways with 3.
• Stephane Robidas led the team in blocked shots with 5.
• Karlis Skrastins assisted on both of the Dallas goals.
• Conclusion: Stars should have taken advantage of at least one of those five power plays. They should not have allowed the game-tying goal with under a minute to play. As horrible as it was to lose the game on a ridiculous call against Grossman in overtime, they should not have gotten to that point in the first place. Still, they outplayed the Flames for most of the game, which is something to be positive about.

SHR +/-:

Stephane Robidas: one for a solid game; +1
Trevor Daley: two for the assist; +2
Mike Modano: one welcome back! point; +1
James Neal: three for the goal; +3
Loui Eriksson: three for the goal; +3
Jere Lehtinen: one welcome back! point; +1
Karlis Skrastins: two for each assist; +4
Brad Richards: two for the assist; +2

Welcome to the WPF! This week we’re looking at Halloween weekend up until the Flames game last night.

October 30 was Coach Crow’s 1000th NHL game coached, and the Stars honored him before the puck drop.

We finally got Lehts and Mo back November 4th against the Flames.

I’m not sure why Morrow has a black eye when the last time he fought was… last season after Brown nailed Ribs into the boards?

The most exciting new line we have this season – Swedes and Sudsy.

I have a new love of the Ice Girls for getting our Stars to pose with their pompoms. You can see more Stars with poms here.

After a somewhat dismal group of games to close out October, let’s see what the media is saying about the Stars this week.

Actual rank: 10th in league; 6th in West; 4th in Pacific.
Record: 6-3-5. L10: 5-3-2.

ESPN by Pierre LeBrun
Stars: 13 this week; 14 last week. “Backup netminder (at least in theory) Alex Auld drew back-to-back starts in losses to Florida and Nashville as the Stars continue underwhelming (2-2-2) play at home.”
Of Note: Phoenix at 6 this week; 16 last week. “The Coyotes continue to prove they are for real with three straight wins, and Ilya Bryzgalov continues to shine in goal. (He’s allowed just 25 goals in 13 games.)”
My thoughts: Underwhelming is one way to put it. You could also substitute “pathetic” or “uninspired” and be okay. For a team that had a 16-19-6 road record last season, the Stars are winning road games they should not be winning – and losing home games they should not be losing. This season’s 4-1-3 road record is definitely better than 2-2-2 at home, but the L5 of 2-1-2 isn’t stellar. No matter where they play, the Stars need to pick it up. Having a goalie with a breakout season like Bryzgalov would go a long way towards that, but so would some solid defense and consistent special teams. Sound familiar?

TSN
Stars: 6 this week; 11 last week. “With four points in the last four games, Fabian Brunnstrom is starting to contribute offensively, giving the Stars all kinds of depth up front. Now, they just need Marty Turco to get over his illness, because he’s been much better than Alex Auld so far this season. Key Injuries: G Marty Turco (flu).”
Of Note: Boston at 20 this week; 20 last week. “Not the Bruins handle the man advantage much better, going 2-for-36 (5.6%) over the last 11 games, a trend that might prompt a change in power play personnel, like getting Dennis Wideman back on the first unit in place of Derek Morris, for example. Key Injuries: C Marc Savard (foot), LW Milan Lucic (finger).”
My thoughts: Finally, Fabian Brunnstrom gets some credit. Everyone is so busy talking about Holy Cow Jamie Benn that they’re overlooking the fact that Bunny has quietly accumulated six assists and a goal so far. It’s also nice to hear that our starting goalie has been better than our backup goalie this season, considering that’s kind of how it should be. Turco’s been a bit shaky at times, giving up goals at critical times, but his overall game is much better than it was last season. So far he’s got a .917 sv%. More importantly, he’s sitting with a 2.26 GAA in front of a team that’s scoring 3.43 goals per game on average. That’s behind only Calgary, Washington, and Philly, in case you were wondering. It helps that, unlike the mighty Bruins, the Stars are occassionally managing to score on their PPs. With Brad Richards back and healthy, our middle-of-the-league power play should improve. As long as that happens, and Turco keeps up the good work, the Stars should also continue to improve.

Yahoo by Ross McKeon
Stars: 16 this time; 17 last time. “Marty Turco is off to a better start this season than last. You don’t think it has anything to do with it being a contract year, do ya?”
Of Note: Colorado at 2 this time; 30 last time. “Best story of the early season, bar none. Craig Anderson is emerging as a star in goal. And if you haven’t gotten a glimpse of teen-aged rookies Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene you really are missing something.”
My thoughts: Another ranking, another talk of our goaltending. Turco needs to have a big year, but more than that, the Stars need Turco to have a big year. Of course, Turco being off to a better start this year than last doesn’t say much, considering he started last year with 29 goals against in his first eight games. At least this year, he has a viable backup in Alex Auld (who I still believe in despite his rocky back-to-back starts last week). Meanwhile, Colorado has in Craig Anderson what we wish we could have in Turco, as Anderson has been leading the surprise charge to first place in the West for the Avs.

Overall, despite a less than stellar handful of games to close out the start of the season, the media seems to be remaining pretty optomistic about the Stars. It has been an encouraging first month. They have points in 11 of their first 14 – points that could be very valuable when the playoff crunch rolls around. For November, I’m hoping they start picking up those points in regulation instead of giving away points in a good third of the games they play. As much as the points we’ve gained in OT losses could help us in the final crunch, the points we’ve given to other teams could hurt us. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

At time of publication, The Hockey News had yet to update their power rankings for the week.

Mono. Shoulder problems. Broken wrist, broken hand. Combine all of these things, and you get one overpaid underwhelming center. Last season, we were quick to jump on Brad Richards. He didn’t play to expectations, seemed to be constantly unhappy, and apparently required a leadership role to feel comfortable with the team.

Now he’s (mostly) healthy and has started to look a lot more like the guy who won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in Tampa Bay. He seems to really thrive in Crawford’s new system and finally looks like he’s finding a place on the team. From all accounts, he’s become an actual leader and is playing a big role in James Neal’s hot start.

In fact, Richards has a point in 10 of the 12 games he’s played in this season. He’s had 2 or more points in 6 of those games. That comes out to 33 goals and 80 assists (113 points) if he keeps this up for the remaining 68 games. As unlikely as that is, it means he could drop his production by 25% and still challenge for the highest point total in Dallas this season.

In the stretch of four games near the beginning of the season (Oct 6-14) when the power play was at its best (appr. 29.4%), Brad Richards had 3 goals and 5 assists. He had a hand in 3/5 of the power play goals scored. It would be very interesting to see what would happen to his point totals if the special teams started clicking again.

His 17 points are good for 11th best in the entire NHL, and his 12 assists put him in the top 5.

To put it simply… Brad Richards keeps up the good work, and the Stars will almost certainly have a chance to compete for this:

Lastly, for those of you that are not satisfied by this post and/or want to read about the pre-Dallas Richards, there is actually a Brad Richards book. For those of you that fit into the previous categories but not to the extent that you want to hunt down said book, there’s always his Wikipedia page.

Notes (DAL vs FLA):

• The three game stars, in order: Reinprecht, Wandell, Horton
• All three of Reinprecht’s goals came while the Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn line was on the ice.
• The Stars recovered from a 3-0 deficit to force overtime, but were once again unable to score in the shootout.
• The game was head coach Marc Crawford’s 1000th behind an NHL bench.
• Ribeiro’s line was a combined -9, while Wandell’s (with Brunnstrom and Sutherby) was a combined +6.
• Wandell’s line also combined for 2 goals and 4 assists, including Brunnstrom’s first goal this season.
• James Neal lead the team with 6 hits.
• Stephane Robidas and Karlis Skrastins each had 5 blocked shots.
• Conclusion: The Stars are not going to make the playoffs if they continue to play below their ability every time they face the Eastern Conference.

SHR +/- (DAL vs FLA):

Stephane Robidas: three for the goal; +3
Matt Niskanen: two for the assist; +2
Brenden Morrow: two for each assist but minus-one for an overall bad game; +3
Jamie Benn: two for the assist but minus-one for an overall bad game; +1
James Neal: three for the goal; +3
Brian Sutherby: three for the goal and two for the assist; +5
Tom Wandell: two for each assist and one for being the Stars’ best player; +5
Alex Auld: minus-one for a rough outing; -1
Mike Ribeiro: three for the goal but minus-one for an overall bad game; +2
Brad Richards: two for the assist; +2
Fabian Brunnstrom: three for the goal and two for the assist; +5

Notes (DAL @ NSH):

• The three game stars, in order: Dumont, Hornqvist, Klein
• Alex Auld played in both back-to-back games due to Marty Turco being out with flu-like symptoms.
• The Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn line was a combined -6, while the Sutherby-Wandell-Brunnstrom line managed a combined +3.
• Wandell’s line accounted for half of the Stars’ scoring (1 g, 2a).
• Wandell also tied for the lead (with Mark Fistric) in blocked shots with 3.
• Conclusion: The Stars’ power play had the opportunity to put the game away for the second time in two games, but came up short. The top two lines need some rearranging if Dallas wants to get more than 1 out of every 4 available points.  Hopefully the return of Modano and Lehtinen can help stabilize the team while they get back on track.

SHR +/- (DAL @ NSH):

James Neal: two for the assist; +2
Brian Sutherby: three for the goal; +3
Tom Wandell: two for the assist; +2
Steve Ott: three for the goal; +3
Mike Ribeiro: meh; -1
Brad Richards: two for the assist; +2
Fabian Brunnstrom: two for the assist; +2

Notes:

• The three game stars, in order: Ribeiro, Kulemin, Richards
• Matt Niskanen returned from his head injury in style, getting assists on both of Richards’ goals.
• Whoever was recording hits went a little nutty, as each team was credited with 33. Brenden Morrow led all skaters with 6.
• Brad Richards led in shots on goal with 5.
• Richards and Ribeiro both struggled with faceoffs, winning 40% and 41% respectively.
• Despite being outshot 10-2 in the first period, the Stars managed to get 34 shots on goal in the last two periods to match Toronto.
• Conclusion: Last season, this game would have ended as a 4-2 defeat when the Stars pulled their goalie and had their empty net scored on in the final few minutes. That is why, despite the truly awful first period, I can say this game was still a good win. In about six minutes, they went from being down by one (0 points) to forcing overtime (1 point) to actually winning overtime (2 points!) which is not something they managed very often last year. Still, it is kind of annoying that the Stars can beat teams like Chicago and Calgary but look lost playing a team that took three weeks to get their first win.

SHR +/-:

Stephane Robidas: two for the assist; +2
Matt Niskanen: two for each assist and one for an overall solid game; +5
Brenden Morrow: two for the assist; +2
Jamie Benn: two for the assist; +1
James Neal: three for the goal, two for the assist, and one for an overall solid game; +6
Marty Turco: two for the win but minus-one for staring at the rebounds he allowed instead of stopping them from getting in the net; +1
Karlis Skrastins: two for the assist; +2
Mike Ribeiro: three for the goal, two for the assist, and one for drawing penalties in style; +6
Brad Richards: three for each goal; +6

Welcome to the weekly picture fantastic. This week features pictures from the Stars’ practices and the most recent three games. Enjoy!

Doesn’t Skrastins remind you of Tickle Me Elmo?

Ribs, ready to brush the dirt off his shoulders.

Wandell and Grossman act out a live version of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

It was good to get B.Rich back to go against the LA Kings.

And the winner of “most awkward body positioning” goes to Tom Wandell.

As always, images are property of their respective owners.

Dallas continues to move up the power rankings. Let’s take a look at why…

Actual rank: 9th in league; 6th in West; 3rd in Pacific.
Record: 5-2-4. L10: 5-2-3.

ESPN by Pierre LeBrun
Stars: 14 this week; 13 last week. “Snubbed by Team Canada at its Olympic orientation camp this past summer, Brad Richards has roared out of the gates with 13 points (3-10) and a plus-5 rating in nine games.“
Of Note: Anaheim at 22 this week; 20 last week. “Here’s a deadly combo: 24th in offense and 27th in defense. So far, the balanced scoring we were supposed to see this season hasn’t materialized.”
My thoughts: There are plenty of people on the Stars roster with something to prove this season, and Richards is at the top of that list. Not only was he snubbed by Team Canada, he also has to carry the burden of a loaded contract and the pressure to follow up two less-than-healthy seasons. So far, he’s doing just fine proving the haters wrong. His offense is invaluable to the Stars, and the powerplay noticeably improves with him on the point. We all owe the unbalanced Ducks some thanks – for our win over them, and for Toronto’s win over them. The Leafs got their first win of the season versus them Monday night thanks to a hat trick from Nicklas Hagman, which means they won’t be coming into the AAC tomorrow night hungry for win #1.

The Hockey News by Ryan Dixon
Stars: 11 this week; 15 last week. “Marty Turco starting to hit his stride.”
Of Note: Toronto at 30 this week; 30 last week. “Maybe return of goalie Jonas Gustavsson can help right ship.”
My thoughts: The three power ranking writers rarely agree on many things, but one thing they unanimously have been in agreement on this season is that the Maple Leafs are the league’s worst team. THN published their rankings yesterday, which means they correctly predicted Gustavsson’s return being beneficial to the team (he was in net when they beat the Ducks). With The Monster and his Leafs rolling into town tomorrow night, it’s starting to look like Dallas vs Toronto will be a goalie showdown more than anything. I predict fairly even save percentages, but with the Stars vastly out-shooting the Leafs. If THN is right, and Turco is hitting his stride at the same time our offense is finding its feet, the Stars are on their way to becoming quite the threat in the West.

TSN
Stars: 6 this week; 11 last week. “Youth is being served in Dallas, too, as three of their scoring wingers — Loui Eriksson, James Neal and Jamie Benn — are all under 25. Key Injuries: C Mike Modano (ribs), D Matt Niskanen (head).”
Of Note: Buffalo at 1 this week; 6 last week. “Starting goaltender Ryan Miller has yet to lose in regulation and his strong play backstops a Sabres team that may not be finishing enough, but is carrying the play, outshooting the opposition by double figures five times already. Key Injuries: None.”
My thoughts: No, that is not a typo. TSN – notorious for Canadian team favoritism – has Dallas at 6^th and Buffalo at 1^st this week. They make a very valid point about the Stars; if it weren’t for our youth (qualifying that as TSN did, with players under 25) scoring, we would be less 17 goals and 27 assists. It’s also interesting to note that every single player under the age of 25 on the Stars roster has recorded at least one assist so far this season. Regardless of our explosion of youth scoring, the other rankers seem a little reluctant to jump on the Dallas bandwagon. TSN seems to be fully on board, which is fun, but a little odd. Last season I was continually frustrated with their lack of faith in the team. It’s nice to see them getting a bit of attention from the Canadian media. As for the Sabres, they’re sitting pretty at 3^rd in the East with a 6-1-1 record so far. I chose to feature them for two reasons: they’re a team not named the Penguins who hold the first spot in a ranking, and they were in 6^th last week. Can the Stars follow their lead and continue to move up?

In that vein, let’s look at the upcoming schedule. Our next three opponents are Toronto, Florida, and Nashville. If you average out the three power rankings, they are currently at 30^th, 28^th, and 27^th respectively. The Stars are, on average, at 10^th right now. On paper, we have the next six points in the bag. However, with Ott suspended until the Nashville game and a few big names already battling injuries, it would be a mistake to go into any of these games over-confident.

In any case, it’s exciting to watch the Stars move up the rankings this season after spending all last season watching them plummet. October is wrapping up, and it’s so nice to say “it’s been 10 games already” instead of “it’s only 10 games…”! Now they just have to keep getting wins and gathering points, and prove to ESPN and The Hockey News why TSN is on their bandwagon.

Well, there really isn’t much to go on for the first Chemistry update of the season.

The one thing that really stood out was the Neal-Richards-Eriksson line. Despite how much Richards is producing, the numbers say it’s Loui Eriksson as MVP for that trio. He’s got 16 chem. points with Neal and 17 with Richards. Richards and Neal together only have 10. My guess is that Loui is getting himself in front of the net for deflections and rebounds off of Neal’s shots (Neal has the first assist for 3/5 of Eriksson’s goals).

For the Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn line, it’s really no surprise to find Morrow and Ribeiro clicking again. They have 14 chem. points, compared to 7 each with Benn. It’s also not surprising to see that Ribeiro has the primary assist for 3/6 of Morrow’s goals. Benn has most of his chem. points through his five secondary assists, all of them on Ribeiro or Morrow goals.

There are only two other numbers that stand out.

One of them is Stephane Robidas’ 6 chem. points with Brad Richards, the most of any defenseman with any other player.

The other is Fabian Brunnstrom and Tom Wandell, who also have 6 chem. points. This is mostly notable because Brunnstrom has the primary assist on Wandell’s only two goals. In fact, each of Brunnstrom’s 4 assists are primary, the best primary-secondary ratio on the team.

The chart (confusing, I know), with chem. totals above 6 highlighted:

Here is a link to the Intro to Chemistry post for anyone that missed it:

Looks like Ott will be having a hearing tomorrow to discuss his check on Carlo Colaiacovo. Personally, I think the only dirty hit of that game was Ott’s on BJ Crombeen, which was penalized in the game. I also think there have been a number of iffy hits recently across the league, including a very questionable hip check by Rob Scuderi, and the NHL needs to set a precedence for looking into plays where players get injured.

Hopefully the only thing that comes out of this is Ott realizes he needs to slow the goon act a bit.

Update:

Ott has been suspended for two games. The official release is here. He will be eligible to play again on Oct. 31 against Nashville.

There is a quote from Stars captain Brenden Morrow at Andrew’s (link) that sums it up very nicely.