Is the answer to the Dallas Stars’ problems just a little more “Dallas Stars hockey”? Plus, Keith Yandle’s iron-man milestone, Star Wars Night returns in Austin, and more.
The version of the Dallas Stars that went out on the current northeastern jaunt seems to have figured out how to win on the road. The team takes on the New Jersey Devils tonight after three consecutive wins on the trot, including last night’s 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika sat down to write about what’s different, and better, about this version of the Stars:
It wasn’t perfect, and there still is much work to do, but it was a lot closer to “Dallas Stars hockey” than the previous three contests….
Still, they won their third road game in a row, they returned Jake Oettinger to play and helped boost the confidence of the young goalie, and they received a big play from Jacob Peterson and Alexander Radulov. It was a pretty solid night up and down the lineup.
Speaking of which, the Philly game also seems to have presaged a welcome return to form for Rads, as well as continuing success for his rookie linemate:
Radulov has been out in COVID protocol, and this was just his second game back. Because of an injury to Michael Raffl and an illness to Radek Faksa, Radulov ended up on a line with Peterson and Joel Kiviranta, and that group created some great scoring chances, including the game-winning goal.
“It’s fun playing with him,” Peterson said. “[Radulov’s] a good player that I looked up to since I was a little kid. He’s good because he’s trying to help me all the time. He’s trying to help his linemates, so it’s easy to play with him. I know what he wants out there.”
There’s more at Mike’s place. [Dallas Stars]
Stars Stuff
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf brings the 10-second summary.
A theme of this road trip: Stars make it more interesting than it needs to be but also a more important theme of this road trip, Stars get the win. Three wins in a row, all on the road.
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) January 25, 2022
Because of course he was.
Stars notebook: Jake Oettinger returns to action Monday; Denis Gurianov benched@MDeFranks | #TexasHockey https://t.co/s5694T9jmR
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) January 25, 2022
I’d ask that we not talk about the backup-goalie curse, but it’s already out there.
The Dallas Stars will be facing either Jon Gillies or Akira Schmid in goal tonight for New Jersey. Gillies has started 3 of the last 4 games for the Devils.
Schmid is a 21 year old from Bern, Switzerland who is 0-2-0 in 3 NHL GP (2 starts), but is tearing it up in Utica (AHL). https://t.co/7ist6ZrFq5
— Owen Newkirk (@OwenNewkirk) January 25, 2022
Around The Leagues
In On The #Kill Taker
- Connor Dewar got his first NHL goal as the Minnesota Wild routed the Montreal Canadiens, 8-2. [Hockey Wilderness]
- Pavel Francouz earned the shutout as the Colorado Avalanche blanked the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0. [Mile High Hockey]
- And Matthew Tkachuk earned a career-high five points as the St. Louis Blues got burned by the Calgary Flames, 7-1. [NHL]
Now that the Stars have beaten the Flyers, is it OK to root for Keith Yandle to set the NHL’s consecutive-games record?
It’s been a long road, but Keith Yandle has a chance to officially break the NHL’s iron man streak this week.https://t.co/Y1NmxMJtIx
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 24, 2022
Here’s your daily dose of Jason Robertson.
#FantasyHockey forward rankings:
#NYR Kreider; #TexasHockey Robertson
#MNWild Eriksson Ek; #NJDevils Bratt
#GoKingsGo Kempe; #LetsGoCanes Necas
Top 100 list & new podcast: https://t.co/g0PavB6at5
— NHL Fantasy on Ice (@NHLFantasy) January 24, 2022
The Vancouver Canucks made franchise history with the hiring of player agent Émilie Castonguay.
Canucks hire Emilie Castonguay as team’s first woman assistant GM. A great hire. Emilie was a huge help to me during Lafreniere’s draft year … always helpful! —https://t.co/DHSVPGLALK via @NHLdotcom
— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) January 24, 2022
Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park
Friday is Star Wars Night with the Texas Stars, and it’s gonna be Hoth, Hoth, Hoth.
STAR WARS NIGHT IS BACK! Join us Friday at 7 PM for ton-tons of fun! There will be
-A live lightsaber battle ✅
-Character Meet and Greets ✅
-A jersey auction w/ our game-worn Star Wars sweaters that benefits @LEEFStrong ✅
-and so much more!: https://t.co/c7dGDaZJDg pic.twitter.com/Oed5RrYVtI
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) January 24, 2022
Finally
“Let’s keep going,” indeed. Enjoy.
SPEEEEEECHHHH pic.twitter.com/iLzt445UgV
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 25, 2022