Official 2007-08 Dallas Stars Season Thread

[u2sarajevo]

I love Turco. Goodbye JLA demon!

[Flacolaco]

wow

[Dim499]

seriously how awesome were Lundqvist and Peterson

[jthig32]

Holy crap what a game. Turco was ridiculous.

[Flacolaco]

I've always believed that basketball was unique in the way that one player can totally dominate the course of a game. Hockey players are only on the ice for 1/3rd of the time.

Today, Marty Turco broke that mold in a big way. He was the defense, the offense, and oh yeah, the stellar goaltending. He deserved assists on both goals. He had his stick on the puck more than anyone else. That's weird.

I thought Osgood was pretty fantastic today as well. I hate to admit that, but he was.

[Flacolaco]

By the way, I thought the officiating in todays game was ridiculously tedious an overbearing on both ends of the ice.... Let them play.

And that icing call towards the very end of the game was complete bs. The Wing player could have easily played that puck. Easily.

[wesbrynt]

what a victory for us! Turco was again fantastic. This guy really is great and I hope stars fans understand that, I feel often times like he has in the past gotten a raw deal from the media and in return average sports fans. He truly is a competitor and special to watch.
peterson, lundquist and eriksson played well in my opinion. Flaco, are you coming around on peterson yet?
The cross check by draper was chickenshit and helped me remember why I have had an odd hatred for him since like 97 or 98.
Redwings were definantly cheating the draws and seem to avoid any sort of repremand for the illegal things they do(kronwall leaving his feet for every hit).
I hope we can take things to a seventh game where anything could be possible. However win or lose, I believe that this run has re-energized the DFW area about hockey and their Stars.

[mnmpeanut]

if i may quote myself....

Originally Posted by mnmpeanut

...but he had to be at least as good as he was against the ducks and sharks, and he hasn't been close. we needed him to steal at least two games for the stars to have a chance...

well, that's one.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Well..that was fun. If only to send the throngs of Wings fans home a little agitated from the AAC.

I'm glad the last Stars game for me at the AAC this year was a win. The fans deserved a little love.

One last happy night at least for this playoff run, assuring the Stars will win more games than they will have lost this playoff year. (9-8, most likely)

Good job boys, and thanks.

You ready for one more game at the AAC?

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by wesbrynt

what a victory for us! Turco was again fantastic. This guy really is great and I hope stars fans understand that, I feel often times like he has in the past gotten a raw deal from the media and in return average sports fans. He truly is a competitor and special to watch.
peterson, lundquist and eriksson played well in my opinion. Flaco, are you coming around on peterson yet?
The cross check by draper was chickenshit and helped me remember why I have had an odd hatred for him since like 97 or 98.
Redwings were definantly cheating the draws and seem to avoid any sort of repremand for the illegal things they do(kronwall leaving his feet for every hit).
I hope we can take things to a seventh game where anything could be possible. However win or lose, I believe that this run has re-energized the DFW area about hockey and their Stars.

-One post-season does not a good player make. I hope to see him back next season. I hope he continues to play at this high level. He's like...a Stu Barnes starter kit.

-That drives me so crazy. He does it in such a way that he commits himself to that kind of force and drive, such that he's going to leave his feet no matter what, and then manages to make contact before his feet actually leave the ice in most cases. It's pretty impressive, but it's a technicality the league needs to address somehow. He shouldn't be allowed to do that.

-Couldn't agree more.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

You ready for one more game at the AAC?

I have a set of tickets available to me (just one pair, sorry) and I have to decide soon. They're rather expensive.

The Stars have figured out enough of Detroits tricks now...and been very lucky on the bounces ..I don't know if they can keep it going.

(We all know I'll be there on Monday.)

By the way, that pass from Richards between his legs....that was..yeah.

[GuerillaBlack]

I'm smelling an upset...

I thought the Stars had met their makers, but looks like I was wrong.

[Flacolaco]

here is Toby Petersens bio from Wikipedia....

Toby Petersen (born October 27, 1978 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a professional ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Dallas Stars. He attended Colorado College, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 244th overall in the 9th round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

On Game 3 of the Western Conference Final in the 2005-06 playoffs, Toby Petersen scored his first ever NHL playoff goal against the Anaheim Ducks. It happened as Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was playing the puck behind the net, when Petersen stole the puck from Byrzgalov and wrapped it into a practically empty net.

Petersen has stated that he is a type-one diabetic.[citation needed] The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins nominated him as their 2003-2004 AHL Man of the Year candidate for his work with Diabetes charities.

Petersen remains a huge Minnesota sports fan, especially the Twins. He met Mike Modano at a youth hockey camp when Modano was a rookie for the North Stars; prior to a game against the Dallas Stars, he was impressed that Modano remembered meeting him many years back.

Won the 2008 AHL all-stars fastest skater with a 14.001 skate.

And you will be surprised to know, as I was a couple of weeks ago, that he turns 30 this October. Which goes to show you that he's playing way over his head right now, so don't get your hope up too much, but he certainly is making a nice impact out there.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

lol yeah.

I mean...look at the matchups in the playoffs....

Goalie:

freaking Giguere vs Turco.

Pronger and Neidermeyer vs ?????? kids?

The Stars SHOULD have the same amount of talent offensively, but that only gets you so far in a defensive system. The Ducks power play is what? 21st? And the Stars is 10th. But that's over the whole season. I don't know what it is lately, but it favors Anaheim.

In every single way you look at this thing, Anaheim is favored heavily in each area of the game. Then there's the intangible part....the Stanley Cup Champs know all about that.

That all equates to....what? 4-1....4-2? Maybe?

I think the team should've been playing to get on a roll tonight and last night, not to rest people and play the rookies.

Flaco's official playoff prediction (page 12).

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Flaco's official playoff prediction (page 12).

A lot of people who get paid lots of money for their hockey thoughts said the same thing.

No one on this earth claims to have seen this coming that I've heard of. Anyone who says so is a liar.

They had the worst March ever. They were just awful.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Oh, I could gather all that just from reading those old posts.

I certainly wasn't calling you out to make you look stupid or anything. I assume you're a smart hockey guy (even though I don't even know enough hockey to confirm that much). But isn't it fun to look back at that now, considering how well it all worked out?

[chumdawg]

We tapped that ass again!

[Caseman]

Good game. I almost threw up during the last 5 minutes in anticipation (maybe a little spitup when Morrow's shot went off the crossbar). I might be able to go to the next game. If they win or lose, I'm proud of them. Broke all of their curses. Advanced first round. Was able to finish off the Sharks through adversity. And now they've won in Detroit. Anything else is just a bonus now.

Also, did anyone see that crosscheck on Morrow's face? Do you think there could be a suspension? I mean, the Ribs-Oz confrontation was bad enough, but this was completely uncalled for. If Morrow wasn't such a BAMF and fell down, the league would have to do something. But he just kept skating. They showed him on the bench and he had a freaking indention on his cheek.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Oh, I could gather all that just from reading those old posts.

I certainly wasn't calling you out to make you look stupid or anything. I assume you're a smart hockey guy (even though I don't even know enough hockey to confirm that much). But isn't it fun to look back at that now, considering how well it all worked out?

Roger that.

Sports, is a funny thing. I know I bitch and moan a lot, but I do recognize that complaining about upcoming and past games in april and May is a nice problem to have.

There are probably a lot of people out there that would give their left nut to predict that their beloved _________ that plays the sport ________ will get beat in the first round of the playoffs.

[Flacolaco]

From the Detroit Free Press:

Marty Turco committed grand theft today, stealing another 48 hours of playoff life for Dallas when there was no other alternative.

The Stars survived because Turco wouldn't let them die, stopping all but one of the 39 shots the Wings fired and flicked at him. They survived because the Wings proved incapable of slamming the door shut when the best opportunity presented itself.

They've left open a small crevice of light and that could prove dangerous in hockey because you're often at the mercy of the lucky - or unlucky - bounce. You never give a goalie confidence. You never want him believing that he's suddenly comprised of brick and stone.

History still favors the Wings. They still hold a 3-2 series lead following their 2-1 Game 5 setback. Turco's larceny doesn't change the reality that only two teams have ever completely recovered from a 0-3 playoff series deficit. It's still difficult imagining the Wings not receiving the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, representative of the Western Conference champion, either Monday night in Texas for Wednesday night back in Detroit.

But the Campbell Bowl remained unclaimed, symbolic more in this instance of a missed opportunity.

“They played with more confidence as a team,” said Jiri Hudler. “And it started with how (Turco) played. I'm sure they're going to be very confident going back to their building, but we know that we could have played better, getting more traffic in front of him in the net.”

A suddenly hot goalie can change the dynamic of a series.

Does the goaltending make the team? Or does the team make the goaltending?

It was the former Saturday with Turco who brought a horrid 0-9-2 professional record to the Joe Louis Arena. He certainly enjoyed more success here during his collegiate days when he was 18-5 for Michigan at Joe Louis.

A reporter asked Turco afterwards if he contemplated wearing his old Wolverines' mask as a way of altering the negative mojo haunting him here. He acknowledged that he wasn't a slave to superstition.

He can feel that way now because in some respects, Turco deflected away the pressure dogging him this series like so many of the Wings' shots.

The pressure rests squarely on the Wings' shoulders.

“There's pressure on both teams,” Nicklas Lidstrom said. “If they lose one game, the series is over. If we win, it's over, too. I don't really feel that pressure.”

Detroit was braced for a celebration Saturday. Electricity reverberated throughout Joe Louis Arena, contradicting concerns that hockey stagnation had engulfed the area. It was a perfect chance to pull the plug on the Stars and get a few days extra rest before the Stanley Cup finals began later next week.

But Turco snatched the bottle away just before Hockeytown prepared its toast.

“He's always been a great goalie when you don't keep enough traffic in front of him,” said Lidstrom. “You expect him to be confident after a game like this, but that only places the emphasis on us to do a better job of screening and blocking his vision of the puck.”

A Dallas newspaper columnist argued that Turco was the better pure goalie than Chris Osgood, even questioning the sanity of those here trumpeting Ozzie's future Hall of Fame credentials should he etch his name on a second Stanley Cup. The columnist reasoned that Turco was the true star while Ozzie is the happy beneficiary of a hearty collection of stars always playing in front of him.

It was certainly true Saturday.

This marked the first time since Osgood replaced Dominik Hasek in the starting lineup that they actually required unquestioned greatness from him rather than the steady, reliable version that served the Wings so well during their nine-game winning streak.

If these last two losses did nothing else, it cemented Johan Franzen as the team's most valuable player through this point of the playoffs. Without Franzen, the secondary scoring so vital to the Wings' dominance in the second round against Colorado has suddenly evaporated.

Hopefully, Franzen can get over his concussion-induced headaches soon because a suddenly confident Turco could provide the Wings with a headache nobody envisioned just days ago.

They have literally just one plan. Get traffic in front of Marty. That's been a strategy of diminishing returns as this series has worn on. If Franzen comes back, that could be a huge lift for them. When a team is talking about getting more traffic in front of your goalie, it's because they believe they can't beat him straight up.

They're such a fast, skilled team. They shouldn't be talking about getting gabrage goals.

[wesbrynt]

so flaco when are you going to invite me to the game on monday???

[Windmill360]

Party at Flacos while he's at the game.

[92bDad]

Remaining calm...one shift, one perioed, one game at a time.

Hey anyone know of any good sports bars that feature Hockey, in the Atlanta area. I will be in Atlanta on business during game 7 and I will need to find a good place to watch.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by wesbrynt

so flaco when are you going to invite me to the game on monday???

You have to fight my wife. And watch out, she's mean, and her Turco jersey has a real fight strap on it.

[Flacolaco]

http://stars.hockeyanalysis.com

Germans, Pearl Harbor, etc.
May 18th, 2008 by flacolaco

There are a lot of clichés being thrown around Dallas these days. Razor says it best when he talks about eating an elephant one bite at a time. Is it still “over”? I don’t know. I’m still inclined to have a “thank you, Dallas” mind-set, and try to appreciate what’s happened over the course of the last month.

That being said, I don’t think if I “believe,” but I sure wouldn’t mind being wrong. As it stands, my prediction of Wings in 6 is looking pretty good right now.

Game 5 had a lot of tense moments for Stars fans. You can’t let your opponent have 40~ shots. That’s bad hockey, and Marty Turco stole a game for them. There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to adequately describe his impact on that game from top to bottom yesterday. Offense, defense, even in a little goal-tending. Is there a reason why a goaltender can’t have an “A” on his jersey? He deserves high praise.

I am finally, begrudgingly, ready to give Chris Osgood some praise as well. I thought he played his best hockey of the series in games 4 and 5. Strange that they lost those, but hey, Dallas wasn’t giving him anything to stop in the first 3 games that a couple of traffic cones in front of the goal couldn’t handle. If he plays like that in game 6, it’s lights out for my Stars. I don’t think we can hold them to 1 goal again on the other end.

Post game quotes from multiple Red Wings players (and coach) talked about needing to get more traffic in front of Marty. Maybe they didn’t mention them by name, but they’re talking about the need for “Garbage Goals.” No one skates and moves the puck as well as the Wings do (except for their SCF dance partner coming up perhaps), so why are they talking about needing garbage goals?

I could write a 20 page paper on Brenden Morrow that might have some questioning my sexuality before it was half over, but I don’t think it needs saying any more. He’s 100% bad ass, grade-A captain. Barry Melrose’s hair called Morrow the “best leader in the NHL.” Mr. Melrose himself, refused comment.

Franzen is supposedly out for game 6. So…that’s good.

Is it ok to start asking those little “what if” questions, Stars fans? I caught myself wondering some pretty big things last night.

Do we have a series? I can’t say, but we’re having fun here, no?

[Flacolaco]

Mike Babcock is an asshole:

Q. What, if anything, can you do to try to keep the puck away from Turco as far as on the dump-ins? Anything you can change there?

COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, Turco played the puck up three times in the game last night. It's not like he had a hundred touches. But he had three very effective ones.

Yet in saying that, you know, the one he fired off McCarty's leg that ended up being the game winner, if he hits McCarty's leg, and it bounces on McCarty's stick, he shoots it in the net, it's the game winner the other way, that's how fine a line it is.

Trying to diminish Turcos play yesterday just makes you look like an idiot. He had 3 offensive plays sure, but how many defensive? How many smart decisions did he make with the puck yesterday?

Idiot.

[Caseman]

No word about any possible punishment for Draper's crosscheck to Morrow's face, huh?

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Caseman

No word about any possible punishment for Draper's crosscheck to Morrow's face, huh?

Not even an acknowledgment that it happened. Not one damn thing.

It's bs.

[Flacolaco]

In arena presentation:

This is one of many versions of this video they play in the arena for the pre game presentation during the playoffs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ehlmA5aQzP0

This, is pretty cool:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g_bZpG2JaKg&feature=related

That's a video with the worst sound imaginable taken in arena by a fan, with the same video playing on the screen, complete with the canon-typed blasts coming from the score board and smoke...and you can just feel the intensity in the building. It's so tense. Maybe it's just because I've been going, but that video gives me goose bumps. It's a really special atmosphere.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Caseman

No word about any possible punishment for Draper's crosscheck to Morrow's face, huh?

here, this is something I found on Andrews Stars Blog (http://andrewsstarspage.com/ADSPBlog...p?id=1190#body)

Some kind of media session or conference call:

Q. Can I get your thoughts on the shot to Morrow? Got him a little up high. No one really saw it. Caught on the replay.

KRIS DRAPER: Yeah, no, I don't know.

Q. You don't know anything?

KRIS DRAPER: No. Sorry.

Seems like the league is just whistling and looking off in another direction. Seems like you need to protect your Star players. Seems like Brenden Morrow, like it or not, is a star player in this league these days. I guess it's just us in Dallas who think that.

[Caseman]

The league is crap. I hope Brenden Morrow wears a patch over his cheek so people will notice and ask. Then the league will have the confront it.

[DirkFTW]

"We expect a big buzz. Dallas has needed something with their sports teams," said Morrow. "With the Mavericks and us, our upsets in the first rounds, this is pretty deep for their franchises. We expect a lot of excitement. It's up to us to go give them something to cheer about."

http://www.andrewsstarspage.com/2008...game-notes.htm

Ain't that the truth.

[Flacolaco]

Penguins fans buying Stanley Cup Finals tickets in Detroit:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/nhl...?urn=nhl,82957

Get your Western Conference Champion gear here:

http://www.shop.com/+-a-red+wings+co...pions-st.shtml

I wonder if you can still buy those 19-0 Patriots t-shirts...

[jthig32]

Uh oh, Flac appears to have some belief.

Are we down to an even 35% grump?

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by jthig32

Uh oh, Flac appears to have some belief.

Are we down to an even 35% grump?

I admit the knot in my stomach has returned.

I had a calm serenity about me when at game 4, and game 5 was on the tv for quite a long time before I actually considered that we might win.

Now, I'm kind of re-engaged emotionally. I hope it's not short lived.

I had sort of mentally retired my old morrow jersey after game 4, because I'm planning on buying one of the new black ones this off-season, but damn if I didn't have to take that thing off the hanger again this morning...

Speaking of those jerseys...I didn't really like them too much at the beginning of the year (in fact I think I hated them at first) but it didn't take long to make some pretty special memories in those things, did it? I'm on board now 100% though I still like the black jerseys much more than the white.

[Flacolaco]

This is cool, you need to watch this video:

http://www.dallasnews.com/video/dall...ml?nvid=246674

These guys are skilled in more ways than just hockey apparently, and they made up this game that is a volleyball/soccer hybrid that they play outside the locker room.

[DirkFTW]

Robidas edges most players in toughness ...... by a nose
By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Robi's came thanks to Todd Marchant's slapshot clearing attempt that jumped up and smacked him in the nose.

It broke on impact, opening a flood gate of blood that simultaneously poured out of his nose and down his throat. He was gurgling the stuff when he reached the locker room where docs stitched his nose while the equipment guys tried to get the blood off his jersey.

The pain had to be severe. It was his fourth nose break.

"Four or five," Robi clarified.

Yet the only thing Robi was screaming about was "get me back on the ice. I need to get out there."

For anybody counting, he missed two shifts.

http://www.star-telegram.com/stars/story/593896.html

By the playoff beard of Zeus!

[Flacolaco]

Im off to the arena. I am...very anxious.

Maybe some resourceful person could post a link for the game or two tonight? For our Versus challenged people.

[92bDad]

I'm getting ready...turning on the plasma...unfortunately on Verizon it will NOT be in HD.

Game 6!!!

All I can say, one shift, one period, one game at a time!!! Let's take this thing back to the JOE!!!

[chumdawg]

Ruh-roh. Down 3-0, just like we were in the series at large...