Catching up with the Stars

I'm sorry that I've been a little lazy updating this site lately. The holidays and all that implies has taken me away from my duties. Consider this a catch-up post. I won't break down every game extensively, you can read the game stories just as well as I, but I will point out notes of each that I thought were interesting.

11/17/06 - The Dallas Stars went into Atlanta looking to end the scoring drought. Getting help from unexpected places did just that as the line of Mike Ribeiro, Patrik Stefan and Matthew Barnaby combined for 7 points in the 5-3 win. Game Highlights here.

11/18/06 - From one scoring machine to another as the Stars headed to Carolina to face the defending Cup champs. The Stars looked a step slow most of the night and that caused them to get into penalty trouble. Any time you give a team, especially one as loaded with talent as the Hurricanes, 10 chances on the power play they will find a way to hurt you. Carolina did just that as they rode Eric Staal's hat trick to a 5-4 win over the Stars.  Game Highlights here.

11/20/06 - The Stars returned home to face their old nemesis, the Colorado Avalanche, in front of a nationally televised audience on Versus. This game started the way that seemingly every game between these two has started lately... with Colorado coming out with their hair on fire and jumping on the Stars. They did it again Monday night when they went up 2-0 just minutes into the game. That led to Marty Turco being pulled which seemed to inspire the troops as their captain, Brenden Morrow, potted 2 goals before the end of the period to tie it. Morrow would leave in the 2nd period with a groin injury. The game was exciting to watch and see-sawed back and forth but behind a good backup performance by Mike Smith (16 saves on 18 shots), the Stars rallied back to win 5-4. Game Highlights here.

11/22/06 - Next up was the Nashville Predators. This game lost some of it's luster when Jason Arnott was injured earlier in the week and would not be making his return to Dallas. The Stars were also a bit banged up as Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen did not play. Rookie Mike Smith got the start in net as a reward for his strong performance against Colorado a few days earlier. He showed his appreciation by stopping all 17 shots faced in shutting out Nashville 1-0. Jeff Halpern scored the only goal for the Stars capping off a very active and productive game for him. Game highlights here.

11/24/06 - Division rival LA came to town on Friday looking to reverse their fortunes against the Stars this season. The Stars had won all three previous games this season and Friday was no different. Riding a strong night fueled by a former Kings defenseman the Stars won 5-3. Philippe Boucher's first career hat trick was impressive considering what all he's had on his mind. He had to be playing with a heavy heart as both his parents are ailing back home. (His dad is battling cancer and his mom is recovering from heart surgery back in Quebec). Again Mike Smith was in goal for the Stars giving Turco almost a week off. Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen returned to the lineup for the Stars, however Morrow again left the game. We'll have to wait and see if he'll play Monday against Detroit. Lehtinen scored his first goal, an empty-netter, in 10 games. Hopefully that will get him rolling a bit.

Mike Modano's assist on Boucher's second goal (Mike's 2nd assist of the night) gave him 1200 career points in 1200 career games. How's that for consistency? Here's a video reminding you to vote for your favorite NHL players in the 2007 All-Star Game to be played in Dallas.

The Stars begin a three game road trip in Detroit on Monday, followed by back to back games against Chicago and Washington on Wednesday and Thursday. Goalie Marty Turco will almost certainly be in goal tomorrow night as he's had enough time to work out whatever bad habits crept into his game. Look for him to look sharp in Detroit where he'll be playing in front of a lot of family and friends (Turco attended the University of Michigan).

The three game trip is important as the Stars need to pick up all the points they can. They currently sit 3rd in the Pacific Division with 32 points (16-6-0), behind Anaheim's 38 points (16-2-6) and San Jose's 34 points (17-7-0). Don't fret too much though, the Stars have played 22 games while the other two have played 24.