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Dallas Stars Blogger •
The season is young. We're only in November so I shouldn't be expecting a finished product. Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen returned to the lineup so the chemistry was thrown around to a degree last night. The headline pretty much sums up my feelings about the beginning of the season though.
Where is the killer instinct of this team?
The Stars are immensely talented. This group has played together for a while now. They're pretty much the same group that went to the Western Conference Finals, but they're tweaked. Where does the killer instinct come from? Does it come from a goalie inspiring confidence in his team to keep the pedal to the floor, from a defensive stalwart or two letting the rest of their team know they've got the game locked down, or does it come from a forward grouping putting out the same vibes? I guess it could come from anywhere.
In the Western Conference Finals run it did come from everywhere. Turco was masterful. Morrow was THE alpha male of the playoffs. The young defensemen were great as a unit. They're missing something. Early in the season the Stars are pissing points away that could come in handy later in the year. They've shown a impressive resiliency, but they shown that they don't know how to finish games off consistently yet.
That brings us to last nights affair. When you full on dominate a team on home ice the way the Stars dominated the Flames you have to win. The Flames did an excellent job clearing rebounds or else the Stars might have gone for 60 shots. You don't leave the rink without getting 2 points if you're the Stars in that game.
The powerplay and shootouts are starting to become a major issue. With a full minute of 5 on 3 time last night the Stars neglected to get a shot on net. Really? I thought the idea behind this year was to attack, attack, attack. For some reason that mentality isn't carrying over to the powerplay enough to translate into success.
With no further adieu....notes:
* James Neal's shot was pretty ridiculous. If Brad Richards buries his shot that hit the post then he would have been just as ridiculous.
* The Stars had plenty of chances to win last nights game so they shouldn't have been in this position, but the call on Grossman in overtime was just awful. In real time I saw that and couldn't believe they called it.
* Marty Turco looked solid.
* Fabian Brunnstrom still isn't there, but last night was another good step in the right direction. He wasn't winning all of the battles in the corner, but he was in the corner battling. Baby steps.
And finally.......
* I really like this team, and I hope they can learn how to finish games real soon.
josh.lile@hockeybuzz.com
Where is the killer instinct of this team?
The Stars are immensely talented. This group has played together for a while now. They're pretty much the same group that went to the Western Conference Finals, but they're tweaked. Where does the killer instinct come from? Does it come from a goalie inspiring confidence in his team to keep the pedal to the floor, from a defensive stalwart or two letting the rest of their team know they've got the game locked down, or does it come from a forward grouping putting out the same vibes? I guess it could come from anywhere.
In the Western Conference Finals run it did come from everywhere. Turco was masterful. Morrow was THE alpha male of the playoffs. The young defensemen were great as a unit. They're missing something. Early in the season the Stars are pissing points away that could come in handy later in the year. They've shown a impressive resiliency, but they shown that they don't know how to finish games off consistently yet.
That brings us to last nights affair. When you full on dominate a team on home ice the way the Stars dominated the Flames you have to win. The Flames did an excellent job clearing rebounds or else the Stars might have gone for 60 shots. You don't leave the rink without getting 2 points if you're the Stars in that game.
The powerplay and shootouts are starting to become a major issue. With a full minute of 5 on 3 time last night the Stars neglected to get a shot on net. Really? I thought the idea behind this year was to attack, attack, attack. For some reason that mentality isn't carrying over to the powerplay enough to translate into success.
With no further adieu....notes:
* James Neal's shot was pretty ridiculous. If Brad Richards buries his shot that hit the post then he would have been just as ridiculous.
* The Stars had plenty of chances to win last nights game so they shouldn't have been in this position, but the call on Grossman in overtime was just awful. In real time I saw that and couldn't believe they called it.
* Marty Turco looked solid.
* Fabian Brunnstrom still isn't there, but last night was another good step in the right direction. He wasn't winning all of the battles in the corner, but he was in the corner battling. Baby steps.
And finally.......
* I really like this team, and I hope they can learn how to finish games real soon.
josh.lile@hockeybuzz.com
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