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The Dallas Stars lost more than the game to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.
They lost their best D Stephane Robidas to a fractured leg. He is lost for the rest of the season.
Now comes more bad news that super forward Tyler Seguin will miss Sunday night's game vs. Edmonton with concussion symptoms.
Tyler Seguin out tonight with concussion like symptoms.
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2013Seguin is the leading goal scorer for the Stars with 12 on the season. He has 23 points in 24 games, 1 fewer than captain Jamie Benn.
The Stars (12-9-3) lost 2-1 in the shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Friday at American Airlines Center.
“We played one hell of a game. That was one hell of a hockey game,… said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. “I thought, puck-wise and playmaking wise and skating, there was a lot of speed in the game. I thought our guys played as hard as they could.“When you lose one like that it hurts. But to know you got a point and played them as tough as you did you can take something away from that.…
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The NY Islanders desperately want to upgrade their goaltending and have for some time now.
The Isles enter Sunday's action ranked 28th in the NHL in GAA (3.41). Their starter, Evgeni Nabakov is currently injured, however, in his 14 starts this season, he is 3.330 GAA with an .892 save %. His backup Kevin Poulin is 3.27 GAA and ..887 save %.
Playing in the weak Metropolitan division was supposed to be a breeze for Tavares and company. Hasn't worked out that way after the first 27 games of the 20113-14 season. The Islanders surprised all doubters last season with their wire wagon brand of offensive hockey. They got strong goaltending and timely goal scoring and qualified for the postseason for the first time in five seasons. Some would say that the Isles were beneficiaries of John Tavares' rise to super stardom. Tavares had an MVP type season and carried his team the the playoffs. Others would say that the Isles were lucky that they ignited and got hot at the right times during a 48 game lockout-shortened season. The fact remains that the Isles made the playoffs. Therefore, lofty expectations have been placed on them this season by their fans and the media. They have a whack of talented forwards who are coming of age together. Their blue line is depleted. Their goaltending is a joke. Sounds like Edmonton East, eh? At least the Oilers have addressed their net concerns in recent weeks by signing UFA Ilya Bryzgalov. Begs the question, when will Garth Snow make a move to shore up his net deficiencies? There has been chatter for weeks that Snow has been interested in acquiring a starting goalie to help him dig his team out of the Metro division basement. The Isles are currently in 14th place in the Eastern conference. Only Florida and Buffalo have worse win-loss records.
Snow has limited options to pursue in terms of starting tenders. Snow will likley have to go the rental route in order to trade for his starter, if he decides to pursue his biggest area of need. Problem with the rental market is that every GM in the NHL knows Snow's pain right now. They are more willing to throw him an anchor rather than a life preserver in his moment of need. Trading for UFAs to be is high risk business for an NHL GM. Its kind of like a test-drive-before-you-drive scenario. The player gets a period of time to get acclimated with the new surroundings and to familiarize himself with the new team. The player reserves the right to skate to unrestricted free agency in July. Two such goalies that Snow is considering right now are Ryan Miller and Jonas Hiller.
Miller has a no movement clause, which means that he has a say in any trade proposal that he might included in.
Jonas Hiller is said to be on the way out of Anaheim.
Yes, this Hiller. Who has struggled mightily in the past couple of weeks.
With Viktor Fasth injured, the Ducks have to rely on uber good rookie Frederik Andersen. The Ducks can ill afford to lose anymore ground in the ultra-competitive Western conference. The San Jose Sharks just finished a 5-0-0 homestand and are now all alone atip the food chain out West. The Ducks need a solution in their net.
The Islanders have the cap space to make a play for Miller or Hiller. Problem being, I've been told that the compensation that is being asked for Miller or Hiller is pretty steep.
Snow has to ask himself if he's willing to go all-in by biting the bullet and trading away one of his top two organizational prospects in slick scoring center Ryan Strome or D monster Griffin Reinhart. Snow can trade veteran forwards Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, or Michael Grabner, however, who's going to feed Tavares? When Snow traded Matt Moulson (and a 2014 or 2015 1st rounder) to the Sabres Thomas Vanek on 10/27, he got rid of Tavares' main man. Tavares and Moulson thrived for years playing together. Trading away another linemate like Okposo might cause more problems for Tavares. Vanek will likely depart the island for free agency in July. Vanek will likely end up in the State Of Hockey, playing with his great friend Jason Pominville. Snow can replace prospects. He can't replace proven NHL 30 goal scorers on the fly.
Its a matter of choice for the Islanders. They can sacrifice a future star now to fix their biggest area of need in their net. Strome is going to be an NHL all star in the near future. He's big, skilled, and plays a 200 foot game. He's been tearing up the OHL the past three seasons in Buffalo's backyard with the Niagara Dogs. The Edmonton Oil Kings love Reinhart for his size, strength and skill. Reinhart is equally as impressive as Strome. Both were early first round draft choices. Each are difference makers. Snow has to decide whether or not he's willing to give up on a top prospect in return for a veteran rental goalie.
Ryan Strome
Griffin Reinhart
The Sabres already own the Islanders' first rounder in 2014 or 2015. Its not likely that Snow will trade another first rounder to Buffalo. The next best thing is to send a former first rounder like Strome or Reinhart.
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