Pittsburgh Penguins (36-21-5, 77 pts) @ Dallas Stars (33-26-4, 70 pts)

6:30 PM CT, February 29, 2012

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Stars:

As improbable as it seemed just two weeks ago, the Stars have somehow rallied together and enter tonight's game on a four game win streak. They remain tied with the LA Kings and the Colorado Avalanche for the eighth spot in the West but sit in the last playoff spot due to tiebreakers (Dallas has more regulation and overtime wins).

The opponent tonight is another tough one as the Pittsburgh Penguins come into town. Dallas lost 3-1 in the previous matchup between the two earlier this season. That game was noteworthy because Alex Goligoski was injured and subsequently missed a month of games. Fingers are crossed for a healthier showing tonight.

The Stars have been riding this win streak with solid goaltending and a sudden explosion of offense. They have outscored the opponent 13-4 during the four game win streak and have played stellar throughout the games. There's no huge lapse in concentration and effort that had plagued this team earlier this month, which is a huge relief. They need to come out with that same passion again tonight against Pittsburgh.

The Stars get a boost to the team as Jamie Benn returns tonight from his lacerated leg. He had missed the last six games due to it. Dallas managed to persevere and went 4-1-1 in Benn's absence so tonight should only help the team. As a result of his return, Tom Wandell goes back to his fourth line centering duties which causes a bit of a logjam. Wandell is pretty much assured his spot on that line but Toby Peterson, Ryan Garbutt, Adam Burish and Tomas Vincour are all fighting for time on that line. Vincour and Burish might see time on the first or second lines as Brenden Morrow is still injured, but things will get crazy once he and Jake Dowell return.

Morrow has neck/shoulder/back issues and Dowell has a broken finger. Both should be returning in the next couple of weeks.

Kari Lehtonen gets the start tonight. He probably had the worst performance of his season last game against the Canucks (though he still stopped 24 of 26 shots). He let in two very soft goals (one off his glove and another straight through his armpit) but the Stars offense picked him up for once. He's had some trouble against Pittsburgh lately, going 1-3-0 with a 3.53 GAA in the last four games. He'll need to be stellar tonight.

Notes and thoughts:

• Dallas is 18-12-2 at home this year. 

• Dallas is looking for its first five game winning streak since Oct.10 - Oct.21. Those were five of the first seven games of the season.

• The win over the Canucks was the first time since Feb. 4 that the Stars were able to win consecutive games on home ice.

• The Stars PK is 12 of 13 in the last four games.

• Sunday marked the seventh time in the last eight games that Dallas has had two or less PP opportunities during a game. To say that the refs have not been kind would be an understatement.

• Dallas is 8-6-2 against the Eastern Conference this season.

• Michael Ryder has at least a point in nine of the last ten games (6 goals, 4 assists).

• Mike Ribeiro has at least a point in eight of the last nine games (3 goals, 8 assists).

• Loui Eriksson has at least a point in eight of the last ten games (4 goals, 7 assists).

more after the jump

After fielding fielding calls and talking trades and scouting players GM Joe and the Dallas Stars ended the deadline yesterday by doing...nothing. That's right. Zip, zilch, not one damn move was made by the Stars yesterday despite having attractive trade chips and numerous UFA's (unrestricted free agents) that would have been solid rentals. Soom of the moves I understand (translation: one of the non-moves).

I can understand the high price for Steve Ott (which was rumored as James Van Riemsdyk for the Flyers or top-shelf prospects from other teams) that was asked from the 10 teams that asked about his availability (10 teams though? Didn't expect Otter to be that popular league-wide). Ott has been a staple of this organization, has captain potential for this team and would just plain look wrong in any other sweater besides the Stars black, green and gold.

The non-moves I'm not sure I get though is in keeping Sheldon Souray, Radek Dvorak and Adam Burish (and to a lesser extent Mike Ribeiro). Tom Gaglardi and Stars management had made it clear that this trade deadline would be about the long-term future of this team and there would be no short term fixes for a playoff run this season. I have to ask then, what kind of long-term future do Souray and Dvorak have on this team.

Vancouver Canucks (40-16-6, 86 pts) @ Dallas Stars (32-26-4, 68 pts)

2:00 PM CT, February 26, 2012

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Stars:

If Dallas wants to prove that it belongs in the playoffs, the game today provides an opportunity to make a statement. The game today is the first of four this season and could be a probable matchup for the first round of the playoffs if Dallas makes it (either the Canucks or Detroit).

Dallas has struggled mightly with the top teams in the West this season (Dallas has oddly done well against the top teams in the East). The Stars are 1-8-1 against Detroit, San Jose and St. Louis this season and will face an equally difficult game against Vancouver (who could be the best of the group).

The good thing for Dallas is that they enter today as hot as they have been in the past two months. Dallas has won three in a row, been scoring goals and the goaltending has been fantastic. It's all the more incredible because Dallas has been doing this without Jamie Benn (and to a lesser extent, Brenden Morrow).

The key to the game today will be to limit the effectiveness of the Sedin twins, especially Henrik. Dallas has to clog up the passing lanes or Henrik will tear the defense apart. He can find those little lanes that lead to easy tap-in goals. It would probably be better to turn the Sedins into shooters instead of passers.

Key number two in this game will be to stay out of the penalty box. The Stars get destroyed on the PK by puck movement and it's tough to find a better puck moving PP unit than what the Canucks throw out. If Dallas ends up on the PK five or more times in this game, it will be a mark in the loss column.

On the offensive end, Dallas has to crowd Luongo and obscure his vision. He'll give up rebounds and has a propensity of melting down. Get a couple of early goals by him and he'll capitulate. Put bodies around him, give him that feeling of claustrophobia and force him to be perfect if he wants to keep the puck out of the net.

Kari Lehtonen gets the start today. He's struggled in his career against the Canucks. He is 1-5-0 with a 4.16 GAA and a .866 save percentage.

Dallas will be without Jamie Benn (leg laceration), Brenden Morrow (back/neck/shoulder) and Jake Dowell (broken finger). Philip Larsen took a puck to the helmet last game and had to leave with a cut, but it looks like he will be good to go for this game.

Notes and thoughts:

• Dallas is 17-12-2 as home this season. It has alternated wins and losses in the last eight home games. If it continues to follow that pattern, today would be a loss.

• Dallas has been scoring a good amount of goals lately (surprising without Jamie Benn). It has outscored the opponent 10-2 in the last three games.

• Dallas only has four PP opportunities in the last four games. It is 0 of 4 in those games.

• Dallas is 11 of 13 on the PK in the last four games (84.6%).

• Michael Ryder has at least a point in eight of the last nine games (5 goals, 4 assists).

• Mike Ribeiro has at least a point in seven of the last eight games (2 goals, 7 assists).

• Loui Eriksson has at least a point in seven of the last nine games (3 goals, 6 assists).

more after the jump

Final

Dallas 4 - Minnesota 1

Three straight wins. A win on the second night of a back-to-back. Two points clear of ninth place in the playoff race and three points out of the third spot. Unless I'm terribly mistaken, the Stars are actually one of the hotter teams in the NHL right now.

Dallas just took the game to the Minnesota Wild last night with an effort that finally looked like they were not a dead tired team working two days in a row. In a welcome change, it was the opposing team that looked lost and confused (Minnesota playing two days in a row helped that undoubtedly). 

The Stars got off to a quick start against what must have been a tired Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom had faced 91 shots in his last two games and he didn't last too long in this one. Goals from Tom Wandell and Loui Eriksson put the Wild down 2-0 going into the first intermission. The Eriksson goal was a thing of beauty. He received a pass from Michael Ryder near the slot and skated to his left, cutting across the crease. He waited patiently as Backstrom went to the ice expecting a shot and calmly roofed the shot for the second goal for Dallas.

Backstrom would only play four minutes of the second period as an Eric Nystrom goal chased him from the game. It was mostly smooth sailing for the rest of the game after that. Things did get a little rocky in the middle of the third period as the refs went whistle crazy and called three penalties in three minutes against the Stars. Dallas would end up allowing one goal on a 5-on-3 powerplay, killing Kari Lehtonen's chances of a deserved second straight shutout.

Dallas did what they had to do in this game, protect home ice against a team that was depleted from injuries and tired from a tough game. The Stars actually looked like a team that didn't miss Jamie Benn too much (though that can't last). Dallas gets a day of rest before taking on the Western Conference leading Vancouver Canucks.

more after the jump

Final

Dallas 3 - Chicago 1

For one day at least, the Stars can say they were sitting in a playoff spot. Dallas made a fantastic comeback (a very rare one) in the third period last night to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. Coupled with the Phoenix Coyotes win over the Calgary Flames, the Stars wake up this morning sitting in the eighth spot in the West.

A combination of a physical game and Richard Bachman playing like Kari Lehtonen proved fruitful for the Stars.

Dallas started the game with a purpose. They played with more urgency than the Hawks and were flying to the puck. Dallas didn't put much pressure on the net in the first period but they were the much more physical team on the night. Dallas outhit the Hawks by an enormous 41-15 margin. Out of the 18 guys who suited up (aside from Kari) all but Trevor Daley, Radek Dvorak and Loui Eriksson recorded a hit. They limited the Hawks chances in the first while providing a tone that would last the rest of the game.

The intimidating start didn't turn into much for Dallas though and it came back to hurt them in the second period. Marion Hossa took over the game in the second, scoring a goal and providing the Hawks with numerous chances to improve on their lead. The Hawks ended up with 16 shots on net in the second period as they tried to take the game by the throat, but Bachman proved to be more than up to the task.

Bachman single-handedly kept the Stars in the game. The only shot that got past him was off a wild mess in front of the net. There were at least five or six bodies on the ice in front of him and the puck ended up on the stick of Hossa, who had a near point blank shot that found the back of the net. That would be the only blemish on Bachman's record though. The fault was not his though as the play started off a Mark Fistric turnover.

Corey Crawford had managed to stop everything thrown at him so far (not that it was much. Dallas only had 10 SOG through two periods), but he proved to be vulnerable in the third. Dallas came out with energy again and took over the game. They peltered Crawford with 15 shots (3 of which found the net) and continued to pound Hawks players on the glass. Steve Ott, Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson all scored tip-in goals (it's amazing what happens when you put players near the net).

The third period comeback is rare for Dallas. It's only the third time this season in which they've come back in the third period to win the game. The fact that they did that last night was one part joyous, one part shocking and one part confusing (as in you couldn't believe what was happening). In fact, seeing the comeback was so great, it gave me Ron Swanson giggles.

Dallas has no time to celebrate the win though. They have to come back today and play against the Minnesota Wild, who are coming off their own game last night.

more after the jump

Dallas Stars (30-26-4, 64 pts) @ Chicago Blackhawks (33-21-7, 73 pts)

7:30 PM CT, February 23, 2012

United Center, Chicago, Illinois

Stars:

Build build build. That's the name of the game for Dallas today. Sitting two points out of a playoff spot and a chance jump to eighth today, they need to build on what they accomplished in their 3-0 whipping of the Montreal Canadiens. The Stars had one of their more impressive victories of the season and definitely one of the best games they have played in the past couple of months. There was a tenacity to the squad that had been missing.

Dallas got contributions throughtout the lineup in the game against the Habs. The fourth line was especially impressive as they hounded the Canadiens in the offensive boards. Ryan Garbutt was especially good as he led the team in shots and hits despite playing just 8:37. That line will once again come into play (particularly with Jamie Benn injured) as the Chicago Blackhawks are one of the deeper teams in the league. The energy and effort has to be there for the team tonight if they hope to win. 

The game tonight is the first half of another deadly back-to-back for the Stars. They conclude it at home tomorrow against the Minnesota Wild. The game tonight is worrisome because despite the rests between games, this team might have some fatigue due to travel. For the past six games (10 days), the Stars have alternated playing on the home and road. They started at home, went north, came back home, went west, came home again, then traveled up to Canada and now find themselves in Chicago. There's been one day of rest in between each of these games but the constant late night games and early morning flights can't be good for their energy. 

Sheldon Souray should return to the lineup tonight after missing the past seven games with a foot injury. I'm guessing that either Adam Pardy or Mark Fistric sits tonight. As a result of some injuries to the forwards, Matt Fraser was called up from the Texas Stars. He played in a game with the big club earlier this season but didn't do much.

Jamie Benn (leg laceration), Jake Dowell (broken finger) and Brenden Morrow (neck/shoulder/back) are out for this game. Morrow should return around the beginning of March and Benn is day-to-day with that deep cut in his leg. Dowell will be out for abuot two weeks.

Richard Bachman gets a start tonight, his first since February 2 against the Sharks. The 21 days between starts will be the longest for him this year (and probably the longest in his AHL and NHL career) so it will be interesting to see how rusty he is. He was let down by his defense in the last game he played, a 5-2 loss to the Sharks, so he'll be looking to bounce back. There's a lot of pressure on him tonight though so hopefully he steps up.

Notes and thoughts:

• Dallas is 14-14-2 on the road.
  

• A Dallas Stars win coupled with a Phoenix Coyotes win over the Calgary Flames will put the Stars into the eighth spot in the West.

• This will be the first meeting between these two teams since the very first two games of the season. Dallas split the two games, winning 2-1 at home and losing 5-2 on the road.

• Dallas has struggled to get calls from the referees lately. They have received only one PP in three of the past four games.

• Mike Ribeiro has gotten at least one point in five of the last six games.

more after the jump

Final

Dallas 3 - Montreal 0

Oh those Habs. They're always good for a laugh whenever you need one. The Stars had a pretty simple game last night in their 3-0 shutout against the Habs, a win in which the Stars dominated from start to finish. There was an energy to the team that had been missing for the past week that the Stars tapped into. They were quick to the puck and fought along the boards on every possession and were just plain outworking the Habs who in all honesty, looked like the disinterested Stars' teams of last week.

The first period of this game was reminiscent of how the Stars played against the Red Wings, only this time the Stars were the attacking team. Dallas had 16 shots on goal and were constantly pressuring Carey Price to make save after save. Montreal could not even keep control of the puck for an extended period of time as they were reduced to just clearing and desperate attempts to get fresh bodies onto the ice. Habs fans did what they normally did as a result of the Canadiens bad play and started booing the team after the first seven minutes of the game despite the 0-0 score.

Dallas broke the deadlock as Ryan Garbutt scored his first NHL goal in just the third game of his career. Garbutt and the fourth line were lightning bugs on the ice. The fourth line (which consisted of Garbutt, Jake Dowell and Toby Peterson) combined for 10 shots on goal (Garbutt had 6). It's even more amazing because none of those three had 10 minutes of ice time.

Garbutt played only 8:37 and was able to put in a whole nights worth of stats (1 goal, 6 shots, 4 hits). His 6 shots and 4 hits led the team. I would not complain at all if he stayed with this team and found himself with some more time, especially if Adam Burish gets traded.

Some of the Stars motivation had to come from Mike Ribeiro, who was making his first return to Montreal. The Habs media had never taken kindly to Ribs and he took extra delight in sarcastically celebrating his goal and taking first star honors last night.

His goal was a simple one as Trevor Daley did most of the work. Daley took the puck on the right side of the boards and skated all the way to the left side of the ice. He spun around and passed it through slot to a wide open Ribeiro, who calmly shot the puck in.

There was some worries in the second period as the Stars took four penalties (Montreal was unsurprisingly called for none), but they never really amounted to anything. Anytime the Habs actually found themselves with a chance to score, Kari Lehtonen was there to make the save. He had another absolutely filthy one in the third period, filling his quota of making at least one highlight reel play per game. The Stars put it away in the first five minutes of the third period with the Ribeiro goal and a Tom Wandell goal.

His first Star celebration was just as great. He took the ice, invited the boos and cheers that rained down, then took a bow as he was leaving the ice.

The win kept Dallas within two points of the 8th spot in the West which is currently held by the LA Kings. The Kings got themselves into a 3-0 lead in the first period against the Phoenix Coyotes and then infuriatingly allowed the Coyotes to tie and then win the game in a shootout so both teams got at least a point.

more after the jump

Nashville Predators (33-19-6, 72 pts) @ Dallas Stars (29-25-4, 62 pts)

6:00 PM CT, February 19, 2012

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

The Stars found themselves on the downside of the NHL teeter-totter once again after yesterday's game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Despite playing a fantastic game, one where they dominated the run of play for most of the second and third periods, Dallas lost the game in overtime. They managed to get a point out of the game, but it was far from the desired result.

Dallas didn't start the game very well, which led to a Yotes goal, but found their legs after the first intermission. That type of effort needs to be shown throughout the game tonight if Dallas wants to even have a chance to make the playoffs (though I'm not sure if the playoffs are in the best interest for the future of this team).

Dallas remains three points behind the 8th spot in the standings, though now it's behind the Calgary Flames (The LA Kings have dropped out of the playoffs after their last game). Tonight they find themselves on another latter game of a back-to-back, which any Stars fan can tell you has been a gigantic thorn in the Stars side this season.

The loss of Jamie Benn only makes tonight that much harder so guys like Mike Ribeiro, Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson (who's disappeared) need to show up in this game. The good news is that Dallas has had solid success against the Preds this season, winning each of the previous two matchups (6-3 and 4-1).

Kari Lehtonen wants to start the game tonight so I say let him go. He's been incredible lately and Dallas will certainly need all they can get from him tonight.

The Stars will be without Brenden Morrow (neck), Sheldon Souray (foot) and Jamie Benn cause of his leg laceration.

more after the jump

Predators:

The Predators have to wishing for February to end as fast as possible. After a fantastic two month run (when they lost only 7 games), Nashville has been 2-3-2 in the month of February. They lost their last game when Pavel Datsyuk scored the game winner with five seconds left in the game. They have now lost four straight on the road, while being outscored 14-8.

The Preds recently made a move and traded for defensemen Hal Gill to try and make it even tougher to get past Pekka Rinne and he should make his Predators debut tonight. With the success that the Stars have had against Rinne this season (He's allowed 7 goals and was pulled in the first game), it seems they'll need Gill.

The Predators will be without two forwards, Brian McGrattan (upper body) and Patric Hornqvist (upper body).

Notes and thoughts:

• Dallas is 16-11-2 at home this season.

• Nashville is 15-12-2 on the road this year. 

• Dallas has scored 5 of the 10 goals against the Predators this season in the first period.

• In the last four road games, Nashville is 10 of 14 on the penalty-kill.

• Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson have enjoyed success against the Predators this season. Eriksson has 1 goal and 3 assists this season while Ribeiro has 3 goals and an assist. They have to score tonight, absolutely have to.

• Benn had 2 goals and 2 assists in the season series.

Final

Dallas 3 - Calgary 2 (OT)

Mike Ribeiro stepped up in the biggest way with Jamie Benn injured and out for the night. Ribs had one of the best goals of the season as he went behind the back with the puck, smoothly skated to the blue line, between the circles and fired a scorcher by Miikka Kiprusoff (though Razor's call of the play was the highlight of the night). Dallas had given up the game tying goal not much earlier and went into the OT without momentum.

Ribeiro sent all the folks home happy with his goal and Dallas got an enormously important two points on the night.

Dallas played one of their best games of the season. They were energetic, played hard throughout the night and fought for every free puck. This was a game that the Stars absolutely had to win and they got it. Dallas started well and controlled most of the first period. They looked to be heading into the locker room with a 1-0 lead when Jarome Iginla did Jarome Iginla stuff. He found a loose puck, made a nifty pass over to Alex Tanguay and raced towards the net. He beat Alex Goligoski to the front of the crease and was there to tap in an easy goal.

Things looked bleak when Jamie Benn left midway through the 2nd period when he got cut in the back of the legs by a skate. He hobbled off the ice and the entire Stars community held its collective breath for the next half hour until it was learned that it wasn't too serious. Even though the game was tied when he went out, it felt like Dallas had just been gutpunched for three goals. 

A Steve Ott power-play goal put the Stars up 2-1 in the 2nd and Lehtonen was doing amazing work again between the pipes. He had another amazing point blank glove save that momentarily preserved the Stars lead. Dallas, however, returned to their not so smart selves by taking a couple of terrible penalties halfway through the third period. They killed off a Trevor Daley delay of game before Ott immediately put the Flames back on the PP with a dumb charging penalty.

Dallas was actually able to kill that penalty off but were too tired to get the puck and clear it. The Flames worked their way around the exhausted defense and Mike Cammalleri scored the tying goal. It was a white-knuckled ride from then on until the Ribeiro beauty.

Dallas got rare goals from both Adam Burish and Ott (on a rare PP as well) in what can only be described as welcome and much needed offense from the other guys. With Benn injured and out for the Phoenix game for sure (he might be back for Sunday's game), Dallas will be searching for offense.

The Stars kept themselves on the cusp of the playoff picture with this win and faces what could be a season deciding back-to-back against the Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators this weekend.

more after the jump

The Stars made their first big move of the trade season this year by sending off enormously underperforming defenseman Nick Grossman to the Philadelphia Flyers forwhat's being reported as a 2nd round pick in 2012 and a 3rd round pick in 2013 (which originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild).

The 2nd rounder (which originally belonged to the LA Kings) could prove to be a very fruitful one as the draft this season is very deep. It also reaffirms my hope that the Stars just decide to call it a season, trade what they can and then tank for a better draft pick.

Grossman is a UFA after this season and didn't look like he would be in the future plans for Dallas. The move opens up a spot that Mark Fistric should fill for the rest of the year and should also plant Philip Larsen into the rotation for the next five years as long as he's progressing (and as long as Dallas re-signs him). I'm hoping the next move that Dallas makes would be to send off Sheldon Souray (who's also a UFA) and bring up Jordie for the rest of the year.

The 27-year-old Grossman struggled mightly this season keeping up with the opposing forwards. He'd often find himself out of position trailing the play, which would mostly lead to point blank shots on Kari Lehtonen. He played in 52 games this year and had five points (all assists) while playing 18:59 of ice time (second most in his career).

He actually did alright working on the penalty-kill this season, most of it because of his willingness to block shots. He blocked 100 of them this season, most on the team (12 ahead of Trevor Daley) and his 119:05 SH TOI was the third-most on the team. He never used his big body to his full advantage though and was never physical enough around the crease. GM Joe did a great job in getting a couple of high picks for him.

I would expect Mark Fistric to take most of those minutes with Sheldon Souray taking the rest of it when he comes back. Goligoski might even see a few more minutes of time on the PK.

In his five-and-a-half year career with the Stars, Grossman played 333 games, had three goals and 31 assists and accrued 170 PIM.