Avery out ... now what?

Sean Avery's brief time with the Dallas Stars is over.  Just 165 days after signing the outspoken winger to a 4-year deal, the Stars announced this morning that Avery will not be a part of the organization moving forward.  The left winger lasted 23 games before his comments in Calgary earned him a six-game suspension, opening the door for his teammates and the organization to reveal their true feelings.

(Read the Stars news release)

Any other player making those comments would most likely not have earned a six-game suspension from the league. Then again, any other player probably wouldn't have called the cameras over to make sure they were rolling before beginning that diatribe.

Sean Avery's sloppy seconds comments were the exclamation point on the grammatical blunder that was his signing. Heck, the Stars were trying to get rid of him even before he made his comments. No one wanted him then; anyone seriously interested now?

That's why the Stars are stuck footing the bill for this guy, at least through the end of the season, unless by some miracle Avery is claimed off of waivers during the season.

For the Stars organization, Avery serves as the perfect scapegoat. For now. Players can blame early season struggles - and there have been plenty of them - on Avery being a distraction within the locker room. He's clearly irked veterans Mike Modano and Marty Turco, and with Brenden Morrow out for the year, there isn't a constant presence of strong, unquestionable leadership to stand up to Avery. But with this problem now gone, this cancerous tumor now removed, how quickly can the Stars bounce back, if at all?

Have the Stars even improved since Avery's departure? They've played six games since his comments the morning of the Calgary game, and the Stars are 3-3-0. Playing .500 hockey, it's a lot better than the puppy-trying-to-walk-on-ice type of play we'd seen up to this point. At some point, it's no longer entertaining; it's just sad.

Avery's suspension initially looked like a catalyst to turn this team around. But the Stars have followed each win by promptly losing. The team earned an impressive 3-1 win over the defending champion Red Wings before being shut out 3-0 in Nashville the next night. I don't want to hear about how tough it is playing the second half of a back-to-back. For a team that has put together back-to-back wins (not on consecutive days, just ever) only once since February, clearly there are deeper problems than one outspoken left winger.

Divided locker rooms don't just heal when one troublemaking player leaves. Wounds linger.

Dallas has suffered injuries to so many key players, the goaltending has been inconsistent at best (and if we're being honest, ugly), and the youngsters that looked so good last year appear lost.

So where do the Stars go without Avery? With five of the next seven games in Dallas, winning always has been the true panacea in sports. But looking down the roster, I don't see anyone capable of fulfilling that prescription.

Weekend Quickhits

The Cowboys and Steelers are just a few hours of renewing a rivalry between two of the most historic teams in the NFL.  And as I sit on my couch eating my coconut-topped cake donut and small hot chocolate from the place down the street, there's a few thoughts I need to get out from this past week in sports.

+  Watching the USC game last night, did anyone else chuckle at the awkward silence following the back-to-back uniform-induced timeouts to start the game? With Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge calling the game for ABC/ESPN, and as the referee announced the timeouts (for the home jersey followed by UCLA's voluntary timeout), here's how it went down:

(Flag thrown)

Referee: "Failure to wear required equipment. By the kicking team. That is a violation. That is a charged timeout. The first of the half by USC. Charged timeout, UCLA, their first of the half. Those will run concurrently. 30 second timeout"

Mike Patrick: "Sounds like the O.J. sentencing."

(silence for my count of 7-Mississippi)

+ I wonder if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wakes up each morning and gets some sort of national security style briefing like the President does, except Bettman's contains a report on who call whose girlfriend a slut. As much as I think the Stars will be better off without Avery, sort of an addition by subtraction, and that's simply based on what everyone in that locker room is saying, I do think this whole league-imposed suspension is a grown-up version of the middle school assistant principle sending a kid to detention for name-calling.

If the Stars really didn't like what he said, they could have suspended him before the league did, but that wasn't going to happen. If Dallas is really serious about moving on without Avery, they should follow the lead of the NFL's Eagles and Buccaneers when those teams deactivated receivers Terrell Owens and Keyshawn Johnson. Both teams followed Super Bowl seasons, and both teams decided that their high-priced headaches weren't worth it. The Stars, coming off a successful season, might just want to get rid of this name caller. Gawsh!

+ Cowboys are playing the Steelers today without Marion Barber and a questionable DeMarcus Ware on a cold, blustery day in Pittsburgh. If weather could ever truly describe a city, today might be the perfect Pittsburgh day. Chance of snow, Wind chill in single digits. And the only people nuts enough to go outside at all today will be the 65,050 at Heinz Field. With a healthy Barber and Ware, the Cowboys could take down Pittsburgh, but without these two Pro Bowlers, could we see the resurrection of the Steel Curtain? The Cowboys offense better find a spark with Tashard Choice or hope that there's a Doomsday revival on the other side of the ball.

+ Oh, Canada! Today the Buffalo Bills are playing their first "home" game in Toronto, the NFL's first ever game in Canada. We saw a Cardinal/49ers regular season game in Mexico a few years ago. Now the NLF is invading the Great White North. I understand playing in Mexico and England, but Canada has the CFL. Grey Cup enthusiasts will be plenty upset aboot these hosers, eh. All three other major pro sports in the US have Canadian-based teams (although technically, I'd argue the NHL is really Canada's league that we're allowed to play in), and now the NFL is beginning it's move to embrace the Canucks. Goofy-looking 20-yard end zones not required.

+ Did the Mavericks find a useful player in J.J. Barea. He put together solid games against the Clippers, Suns and Hawks, and the Mavs are rolling along at 11-8 now. It's still only good for 7th in the West, but it's a great improvement from 2-7. All without Josh Howard, by the way. Now if they can just take care of Mark Cuban's kindergarden haircut, they'll be great.

+ The GBL made Rickey Henderson a $1M offer to go into the Hall of Fame as a San Diego Surf Dawg. Some league critics on message boards are upset that a league that history doesn't spend a lot of money would solicit Rickey for seven-figures. And that's the genius of it all. Because the Hall of Fame has the final say on which cap a player wears into the HOF, the league knows the possibility of Rickey as a Surf Dawg is virtually none, while the publicity generated is virtually a lot.

+ I tried to get through this week without talking about this, but I just can't. I'm weak. But how the heck does a world class athlete shoot himself in the freakin leg?! I swear, carrying a gun in your sweatpants. Plaxico Burress could lose up to $27M in salary and spend years behind bars. Doesn't make Terrell Owens look so bad now, huh?

+ Obligatory mention of Manny Pacquiao defeating Oscar De La Hoya. I don't care. Moving on.

+ Looks like the college football national championship will go down between Oklahoma and Florida, a pair of one-loss teams, but the Rose Bowl match up between USC and Penn State should be just as good. Penn State runs the spread, while USC has been led by a defense that gave up 93 points on the season. Oh, and these two teams have just one loss each as well. The BCS title will be decided in Miami, but the best game of the BCS Bowls will be played in Pasadena.

+ Finally, speaking of BCS Championship games, we're seen plenty more blowouts than close, amazing games. Here's some of the recent bloodlettings in the title game:

Blowouts
2007-08: LSU 38, Ohio State 24 - enough OSU
2006-07: Florida 41, Ohio State 14 - so much for being undefeated
2004-05: USC 55, Oklahoma 19 - OU was supposed to roll; rolled over instead
2003-04: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 - not as close as 7 point difference
2001-02: Miami 37, Nebraska 14
2000-01: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
Nail-biters
2005-06: Texas 41, USC 38
2002-03: Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (2OT)

Happy football watching today. I'll be back Monday with some thoughts on the Cowboys-Steelers, providing I don't repeatedly slam my head into a wall during this match up.

It's either Avery or continuity; not both

The Sean Avery drama continues. And after hearing the most recent comments from head coach Dave Tippett, I've got to believe that the organization is going to do something, anything to delay or deter or prevent his return to the locker room.

Not sure what options the club really has. Anyone willing to trade for him? And what would you really get back? Does the club just cut their losses, lots and lots of financial losses? Or do they try to suck it up and play with a guy who clearly has a lot to do to gain back the trust of his teammates.

Dave Tippett's comments on Sean Avery:



"As far as him coming back, rejoining the team, I think we'll have to wait and see what Mr. Bettman says, our ownership and management. From a coach's standpoint, I try to build a team that has an atmosphere where players care about each other and play for each other and play with continuity. And I find it hard to believe that Sean can come back in that dressing room, and we can find that continuity again. That's up in the air. That's my own personal feeling on it."

The coach just said that the team can't gel together with Sean Avery in the mix. The fact that Avery is a strong personality and a loud clubhouse presence isn't horrible, but when the team's captain Brenden Morrow isn't there every day - he just had his surgery - anarchy can overtake the locker room. And with Avery, it will. That's why Tippett is so concerned.

The team showed a lot of resolve the day of the comments and suspension, pulling together for a win in Calgary. But the fallout doesn't seem to be letting up. The game against the Flames looked like perhaps this team would be, could be better off without Avery. It'd be a much nicer argument had the Stars beaten the Oilers tonight.

One day after the Stars earned their longest winning streak since February (two games), Dallas slipped against the Edmonton Oilers, 5-2.

Not two minutes into the game, Marty Turco allowed the first Edmonton goal from just a few feet inside the blue line. Yikes. Once again, Marty Turco struggled. The defenders *cough* Matt Niskanen *cough* gave up costly turnovers in their own zone leading to a couple of Oilers goals. Mike Modano proved to be the one constant, putting two third period shots in net to pull Dallas within a goal late in the game. But another ugly Stars turnover led to the clinching empty netter. Typical 2008-09 Stars? It seems that way.

Getting rid of Dave Tippett isn't the answer. Trading Marty Turco isn't the answer. And you can't bench him because frankly he's so far and away the best goalie on this roster it ain't even funny. No one watching this team can seriously consider Tobias Stephane is a reasonable alternative. If the Stars are going to turn it around, it will have to be with Turco in net. Otherwise, it just won't happen.

And as for Avery, we'll see how long this suspension will last after his Thursday morning meeting with commission Bettman.

Boom goes Barea: Mavericks 100, Clippers 98

Amazing win by the Mavericks last night. After an extremely disappointing loss to the Clippers early this season, the Mavericks needed to beat this team simply because if - if - the Mavs are truly a playoff-caliber team, then they absolutely must beat the teams they're supposed to beat. Especially at home.

And just as important as winning the game was how this team won it. Just as they did one week ago, the Mavs overcame a double-digit fourth quarter deficit to wrestle away a well-fought win. And just like last week - when Antoine Wright scored 24 points to help beat the Pacers, there was once again an unlikely hero: Jose Juan Barea.

Or as they called him on the Clippers TV broadcast, Juan Jose Barea. But regardless of which order you put his first names, the best comment of the night came from Clippers TV color man Michael Smith after Barea hit the game-winning three-pointer: "Who is this guy?"

I guess we now know why JJ Barea has been able to hang onto the bottom of the Mavericks roster the past few seasons. He has had big games before, but the perception has been that he's merely a JV call-up getting to play in a varsity game. And when coach Rick Carlisle had the smallest player on the Mavs roster on the floor down the stretch, I initially thought it was horrible.

But Barea made plays, including setting up Dirk for one of his two big three-pointers to open the fourth quarter. It's not like Barea was a complete nobody before joining the Mavs, but he's appeared as nothing more than a gimmick at point guard up until recently. Carlisle is really trusting the depth of the Mavs to make plays, and the young players are responding. Perhaps Carlisle really does know how to get more out of his roster, his players than Avery Johnson did.

Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Brandon Bass, and Barea. Those were the five on the floor to finish things off. Obviously when Josh Howard returns, he'll be on the floor in the clutch as well, and depending on if the other team has a big-time center, perhaps Dampier or Diop will be out there. But last night, it worked. Beautifully.

The Mavericks 100-98 win over the Clippers gives this team one more comeback to put in the bank. One more reason when they trail tougher competition late in games to believe they can come back. Yes, they came from 15 points down to beat the Clippers, but if you can't do it against them, how could you be expected to do it against LA's other team?

And really, isn't that what we need to find out about the Mavericks?

Avery unneeded as Stars extinguish Flames

Great win for the Stars last night, who won back to back games for the first time all season (the first consecutive regular season wins since February 26 and 28 last season). The 3-2 win in Calgary came just hours after newly acquired Sean Avery fulfilled the role many expected him to play: the distraction.

I don't think what Sean Avery said is as big of a deal as how he went about saying it. The guy essentially called a mini press conference, making sure everyone was focused on him before his sloppy seconds comment. If he had yelled this comment to Phaneuf on the ice during the game, in the heat of battle (or even after the game if the two got into it), I could understand that. But to go about making this announcement the way he did, he wanted to make sure he stole the headlines.

Only problem is that commissioner Bettman stole them back when he suspended Avery indefinitely. Does the punishment really fit the crime? Probably not. But sadly it does fit the perpetrator.

How long until Avery is back on the ice? And when that time comes, where will the Stars be? Last night, they took major steps forward with Marty Turco making big saves and Fabian Brunnstrom realizing he is in fact allowed to continue scoring goals. Dallas is still in the Western Conference basement, but it's great to beat a tough team like the Flames.

I'm hoping Garry Bettman takes his time to reinstate Avery. Not too long, but perhaps give the Stars a few more opportunities to take the ice. Perhaps removing Avery from the picture can allow this team to refocus on hockey and now his sloppy seconds.

Is it possible Sean Avery is now the biggest knucklehead athlete in Dallas? We've got quite a list of them now with Avery, Pacman, Vicente Padilla, Terrell Owens, Josh Howard...

Elisha Cuthbert

With Sean Avery's comments about Dion Phaneuf and other NHL players falling in love with his sloppy seconds, I figured I'd take the opportunity to show you just how "sloppy" those seconds are. Seriously, would you complain? I think Phaneuf will be just fine...




See more pictures of Elisha Cuthbert...

Sean Avery, sloppy seconds, and suspensions

Stars troublemaking free agent signing Sean Avery decided to run his mouth this morning in Calgary, earning him an indefinite suspension until he meets with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Perfect. Because the Stars need this now.

With all the head-ache-causing athletes in Dallas, Sean Avery just leapfrogged the entire list. Move over, TO, Pacman, Padilla, Josh Howard…

Why does he just have to open his friggen mouth? Just shut up and play hockey!!! Your team is in last place, and frankly I don’t care who your ex-girlfriend is or who she’s sleeping with. I’d love to know why you can’t put a puck in a net.

Moron. Absolute moron.

Here's the video...


By the way, the best comment I've heard on this subject is from Dallas Morning News blogger Tim MacMahon...
"I won't go into what "sloppy seconds" means, but it's not a hockey term."

Problem between the pipes

Sitting in the American Airlines Center watching shot after shot find its way around Stars goalie Marty Turco, I kept trying to explain to my dad how it's not always the goalie's fault. After each goal tingled the twine, I kept finding ways to explain them. A poor turnover by a Stars defender. A solid screen in front of the net. But after five goals in a 6-2 loss against San Jose, there are simply no more excuses. The problem is #35. And that’s a tough pill to swallow after such an amazing run last spring.

I assumed that coming within two wins of the Stanley Cup finals last year would buy Turco some clemency for his awful start this season. But at what point do we have to just wake up and realize that this thing, which looked so good last spring, is simply not going to be what it was.

When the third period began with the Stars trailing the first-place Sharks 5-1, Tobias Stephan stood in the crease as Marty slumped onto the bench with a towel around his neck. His night was over. And what of his season?

It's getting harder and harder to defend a guy who for two straight postseasons has been otherworldly. It seemed after every game last spring, all anyone could say was that Marty stood on his head again to bail the Stars out and keep the playoff run alive. This year, there will be no deep playoff run. It's time to wake up: the injury-plagued, last-place Stars are done. Their season is over before it really started.

Think about all those Texas Rangers teams that would hit June already 15 or 20 games out of first place. This is the same thing, just colder. Check the standings, the Stars are already 21 points off the division lead. And while Dallas is only a mere 6 points out of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings, would it matter if they make it? What would lie ahead? A four-game execution-style series at the hands of the Sharks. No thank you.

Turco has six wins this season. Six! His goal against average is 3.64, second-worst in the NHL. But as bad as Marty is, Tobias Stephan is not the answer. In his five games this year, his GAA is 3.47. Great, just great.

Many will say the answer is now between the pipes in Tampa Bay, where Mike Smith is only 5-5-6 on the year. But the answer is really a combination of the two. Having two capable netminders on the roster. Sadly, right now Dallas doesn't even have one.

So you can look to the injuries to Morrow, Lehtinen and Ott as to why this team can't score. You can say acquiring Sean Avery wasn't worth the risk. You can even say the Brad Richards trade was pointless. But you can't deny the problem with the Stars starts between the pipes.

It's a problem that either must fix itself before the front office takes matters into its own hands.

Stars-Kings live running blog

Gonna try something tonight that I haven't done since the 2005 NFL conference championship games... I'll be liveblogging this evenings Stars-Kings game, so feel free to follow along with my commentary here.

Kings win, 3-2
7:57pm PT

Stars pulled the goalie but couldn't even manage a shot on goal. The Kings played well, but the Stars dug themselves too deep a hole with so many penalties. Dallas crushed the Kings in PIM (which means nothing except Dallas played extremely undisciplined tonight), 18-10. No, that's not a massive amount of penalty minutes, but late in the first period and in the early second period, each time one Kings power play would end, another would start up.

Final score:
Los Angeles - 3
Dallas - 2

This team is in trouble. Oh, and if you could just ignore that prediction of mine, that'd be great.

Marty the wall
7:47pm PT

Toby Petersen turns the puck over with just under 7:00 to go in the third period, but Marty Turco stones Brian Boyle's shot to keep the Kings lead at 1. Kings going on the power play now after a tripping call on Mark Parrish.

UPDATE: Stars kill it off. Penalty kill clicking, and Marty is coming up big.

Offense looking consistent
7:36pm PT

The Stars have been putting pressure on the Kings defense so far in the third period. Much more so than in their match up on Tuesday. If the can keep this pressure up, it's only a matter of time before something gets behind Ersberg.

Stars will win
7:20pm PT

We're in the second intermission with Dallas trailing Los Angeles, 3-2. With goals by both Richards and Ribeiro - the two guys who are - or in theory should be the offense, the Stars need to find a way to limit all the penalties they've been taking. You can argue if they don't take some of those penalties, the Kings would have scored. Only problem is the Kings did anyway.

But I'm declaring it right now (taking a time out from the journalistic perspective of this blogger, and for right now I'm speaking as a fan)... The Stars will win this game. This is going to be one of those "defining games" that a team can build upon for the next few weeks. With this comeback tonight, after so many early struggles, the Stars will use this win as a springboard to put their season back on track.

Of course, if I'm wrong, let's just ignore I said all that. I believe it. But I might have to eat those words.

Richards, Ribeiro team up for goal
6:59pm PT

Stars actually on the other side of all these penalty kills. Richards puts hard-angle shot on net and it looks like it went off Ribeiro past Ersberg for the Stars second goal of the night. This might actually not be the blood bath it was looking like.

3-2, Kings.

Kings back on power play 2.0
6:46pm PT

Stephane Robidas for tripping.  The Stars are just flat out shooting themselves in the foot while the Kings continue to shoot themselves silly at the Stars' net.

UPDATE: Hey, what do you know. The Stars killed a power play. even had a chance for a shorthanded goal in the process.

Kings back on power play
6:42pm PT

That was fast.  Tripping on Ribeiro.  This is the fifth time Dallas is shorthanded. ... And now it's a 5-on-3 thanks to a Toby Petersen hi-sticking. Could this be ANOTHER Kings goal coming up?

And another Kings goal
6:39pm PT

Kyle Quincey slung it past Turco.  Now 3-1, Kings.  This is really getting ugly early.  So much for any Dallas momentum.



Another Dallas penalty

6:36pm PT

Stephane Robidas had to take this hooking to prevent a breakaway goal by Dustin Brown.  Let's hope the Kings don't have similar results as last time.

Stars on the board
6:18pm PT

It happened on a 5-on-3 power play, but Dallas got on the board.  Morrow to Zubov to Richards to the back of the net.  A great one-timer from Brad Richards that may have been deflected by one of the Kings defensemen.  Someone write the Kings a thank you note for the pair of interference calls that put Dallas two men up.

That goal wraps up the first period.  Stars take a little momentum into the intermission.  They'll have a little over a minute left on a power play when they take the ice for Period #2.  Ideally the Stars can take advantage of some additional power play time, unlike the end of Tuesday's game.

Kings lead, 2-1.

Another LA goal

This time it's Alexander Frolov.  Lots of traffic in front of the net and there were a pair of Kings that could have put that one away.  This could get ugly.

2-0 Kings.

Avery to the box, Kings on the board

Sean Avery tripped Kings goalie Erik Ersberg leading to an LA power play. Kings' Michal Handzus quickly buries the puck in the back of the net.

Avery might not have been trying to trip the goalie, but his reputation will always work against him in that situation. No surprise he went to the box, and the no surprise the Stars shaking penalty-kill surrenders the first goal.

1-0 Kings midway through the first period.

King me! Stars lose in LA, 3-2 (SO)

First, before I say anything - positive or negative - about the Stars loss in Los Angeles on Tuesday, you are required to watch the goal Mike Ribeiro scored in the shootout. Note: you'll probably end up watching it more than once.

Okay, breathe.

But seriously, can I really be upset with the Stars tonight after being on hand at Staples Center to witness such a great goal? It's not just that Ribeiro made a great backward-between-the-legs-drag-the-puck-a-la-Jussi-Jokinen move. The remarkable thing is that he did so after just minutes earlier leaving a pool of his blood on the ice after being run into the boards by Dustin Brown. And then he shhh-ed 'em all. Classic.

So, to answer my question... can I really be upset with the Stars tonight after that goal? Unfortunately, yes.

Defensively, the Stars were already feeling the upcoming holiday season. It was a time for giving, and Boucher, Daley and Peterson gave plenty back to the Kings. Heck, at one point early in the third period, Toby Peterson looked like he forgot how to skate, fell down, and Marty Turco bailed him out with a great save. What was this team doing?

It seemed like each time Dallas got the puck into the offensive zone, they were good for one shot before the Kings were off and running the other direction. Los Angeles then sustained constant offensive pressure, putting multiple shots on net with each scoring chance. When Dallas did put shots on net, they never forced Kings goalie Erik Ersberg to make great saves. Routine shot after routine shot, Ersberg turned Dallas back.

With the game tied, 2-2, late in the third period, Kings captain Dustin Brown put a rough hit on Ribeiro, sending him into the boards and *seemingly* knocking him out of the game. But what happened next continues to boggle my hockey mind.

The two captains, Brown and Brenden Morrow locked up in the game's only real fight. Morrow was clearly coming to the defense of his fallen teammate as Ribeiro remained on the ice, clutching his face for the duration of the fight. Somehow the referees decided that Morrow deserved to be hit with an instigator, five minute fighting major, ten minute misconduct and automatic one-game suspension. Quoi? The dude just saw his teammate obliterated into the boards, sparking the fight.

Here's the sequence:


It seems that after the hit on Ribeiro, Brown throws the gloves off first which makes it odd that Morrow got tagged with the instigator penalty. And with all the hubbub that comes with an instigator in the final five minutes, this is absolutely ridiculous. Morrow, coming to the defense of a teammate, is now facing a suspension and his coach facing a $10,000 fine?! Can someone explain the logic here, please?

I realize you don't want goons jumping players in the final minutes of blowouts, but can't that be something the league can determine on a case-by-case basis? Even the No Fun League rescinded a fine it levied this week once it really took a hard look at the play and realized the set punishment was wrong.

UPDATE:

The NHL has rescinded both the one-game suspension for Morrow as well as the fine for Tip. (STORY) Good call. Again, the fight was merely the result of a captain defending his team's best offensive weapon.

After the Morrow-Brown fracas, the Stars were awarded a three-minute power play which included the final minute of regulation and the first two minutes of overtime. Yet the Stars couldn't capitalize. So losing in a shootout, I can live with. But losing in a shootout after not being able to capitalize on a great man-advantage opportunity in OT, that's much harder to stomach.

On the positive side, the Stars left the West Coast with 3 points, which is where I pegged them before their trip to California. I just figured they would be able to earn 2 points against the Kings. After Dallas clobbered the Ducks on Friday, I had high hopes for this California road trip, but after Marty gave away a point in San Jose, Dallas was brought plummeting back to the reality that this team is severely underachieving this season.

Let the case be made for why and how to blow up this team, but the talent is absolutely there for Dallas to make another deep playoff run. Last year, if you remember, the magic didn't start until the mid-season shake up of firing GM Doug Armstrong. Don't expect the Les Jackson/Brett Hull regime to end any time soon. But what of Dave Tippett? And if he goes, who coaches this mess?

Dallas needs to rebound in a big way when they face this Kings team in two days on home ice. Without Morrow. But can they be the team they used to be? Or is the simple answer that this team overachieved last April?

Parrish debuts with hat trick

February 28, 2008. Brad Richards. 5 assists.

October 15, 2008. Fabian Brunnstrom. 3 goals.

And Friday night. November 7, 2008. Mark Parrish. 3 goals. Another big debut by a new Stars player.

Mark Parrish started this NHL season as a spectator, but the newly acquired Star made up for lost time with a hat trick against the rival Anaheim Ducks. With plenty of penalty minutes to go around on Friday night, Parrish capitalized with two power play goals, giving embattled goalie Marty Turco a nice lead to protect. Turco got a little more help in front of him with the return of Sergei Zubov, who missed every game up until Friday with injury. The addition of Parrish, return of Zubov, and strong play of Turco added up to a 5-2 Stars win.

Was Mark Parrish the answer to all the Stars problems? All of them? No. Some of them? It's still too early to tell, but signs are pointing toward yes. The line of Parrish-Modano-Avery frustrated Jean-Sebastian Giguere all night, leading to his removal after giving up Parrish's third goal, giving Dallas a 4-1 lead. (Also this prompted my buddy Taylor to send me a text message saying: "Wow. Bye-bye Stuffed Pads.") Any time the Stars - or any team - can chase JS Giguere from net, you've accomplished something offensively.

After Dallas took a 2-0 lead in the 1st on Brunnstrom and Parrish goals, but the Ducks answered back on what looked like a nice Turco save. As Turco seemingly nabbed a shot and made the save, he started to fall backward the way a goalie does when play is going to be stopped. But as Turco was falling, his body language seemed to scream, "oh, crap. This is gonna be bad." Sure enough, the puck wasn't secured, and the Ducks banged in a lose rebound to pull within one at the end of the first period.

Sean Avery again drew the ire of his opponents, constantly being punched on like a stress relief doll. After leaving the ice on a shift toward the end of the first period, he could be seen jawing at Ducks players from the end of the Stars bench. Baiting the hook. He drew a boarding penalty at the end of the first period that awoke the Honda Center, sparking a fight between Trevor Daley and Chris Kunitz.

By the way, does Ducks Winger George Parros's mustache bother anyone else?

Stars special teams proved to be a major difference-maker. While Dallas did give up a power play goal, it didn't happen until the Stars already had a 5-1 lead and the game was comfortably in hand. They killed four penalties on the evening, including two early in the third period that could have put the Ducks right back into the game. The Ducks (1-for-5 power play) failed to take advantage of their chances, and continued to take stupid penalties, giving Dallas a chance to keep the pressure on late in the game.

Last April, the Dallas Stars limped into the post season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Most logical hockey people were predicting a Ducks series win. Anaheim was just a year removed from their Stanley Cup win. The Stars didn't follow the script, stealing games one and two at Honda Center, sparking a playoff run to the conference finals.

On Friday night, the struggling Stars returned to the Honda Center to take on a Ducks team that had earned a point in each of its last nine games (8-0-1). Anaheim had been playing better coming in, no question, but maybe a win like this is what the Stars need to finally jump-start their season.

Next up for the Stars: a Sharks team without Evgeni Nabokov between the pipes. The Stars already have 2 points on this California road trip. Going into this trip, I would have figured that 3 points on this Cali-swing would be fine considering how the Stars were playing. After last night's win, 5 points is realistic. With strong showings at the Shark Tank and Staples Center, the Stars can officially turn around their season.

Final note: a year ago today, November 8, 2007, Mike Modano scored twice in the first period against Nabokov to become the greatest American-born scorer. All the Stars billboards around Dallas leading up to Modano's record-breaking feat read "Number 9 is about to become Number 1."
--------------------------------

Video from Friday night at Honda Center

The Stars take the ice


National Anthem at Honda Center


JS Giguere goes to the bench ... I discuss getting some nachos

--------------------------------

For all the Dallas sports fans looking for their fill of pessimism for the day, the Mavericks played as well last night (L, 108-105). Not nearly as rewarding a game, but newbie Gerald Green might just be solidifying his role on Rick Carlisle's squad.

--------------------------------

Nip Tuck: NFL rescinds fine against Giants DE

The NFL has taken back the $7,500 fine against Giants DE Justin Tuck for his hit on Brooks Bollinger. Good to see Commish Goodell do the right thing. While I thought the fine was unjust from the beginning, the disconcerting part of all this is the fact that Goodell hadn't actually seen the hit when the fine was initially issued. Shouldn't the commission know why his players are getting fined? Seems a little ridiculous the commissioner's office is issuing fines that he doesn't sign off on without knowing why. Missteps like this gives players like Troy Paulamalu some street cred in criticizing the league.

Dimming Stars?

Attended my first Stars game of their 15th Anniversary season here in Dallas, and from a fan standpoint, it was a wildly entertaining game. But the vibe from Stars fans outside the AAC after the 6-5 OT loss gave off the impression the team was in shambles.

"We shoulda traded Turco last season when we had the chance!"

"Brendan Morrow is soft!"

"Brad Richards gives us nothing and we gave up our goalie of the future for a guy to take up half our cap space!"

Negative much? Yes, the Stars have not played up to the hype early in the 2008-09 season, but let's at least remember it is of course early in the season. Through nine (yes, nine, out of 82) games, Dallas is 3-4-2, and their 8 points puts them in a five-way tie for eighth place in the Western Conference. Again, it's NINE games into the season. Calm down and give this team a chance to gel.

After going 2-1 on their NYC-area road trip, this home-ice loss wasn't exactly a big confidence booster, but the team did show flashes of what propelled them to the Conference Finals last season.

There's no denying this team has something special in Fabian Brunnstrom. A nifty pass from a behind-the-net Avery to Brunnstrom became a behind-the-goalie puck. Leads rookies in goals with five. Avery made a big night of it as well, notching his first goal with the Stars. New players making an impact? Check.

Offensively, the team came through. Five goals in the NHL should be enough to win. Immediately blame will fall on Marty Turco. Some of that is deservedly so. The fourth goal he gave up tonight was a direct result of a careless Turco turnover. At other times, he continued to bail out a defense that has been sloppier than Reunion Arena ice. Turco is also not corralling some of his saves, allowing for plenty of second-chance goals off of easy rebounds.

With the game tied, 4-4, in the third period, Turco stopped a hard shot from his right only to see the puck trickle off him right across the crease to a capitalizing Capital in Tyler Sloan.

And yet with the game having swung so quickly back in Washington's favor, Dallas' leaders Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano came through to team up on the game-tying goal with 56 seconds left in the third period to force overtime. Late-game goal to save a point from this game? Check.

Take 'em any way you can get 'em. The Stars won't sneak up on anyone this season like they did in the 2008 playoffs. Frankly, they wouldn't have had to if they hadn't stubbed their collective toe in several late-season games. But despite the No. 5 seeding, the team still made it all the way to hockey's final four. So while the early season happenings of the Stars have been subpar, don't consider a season with 89% still to be played already over.


Amen to these comments left on the DMN Stars blog by my good friend Taylor...

Posted by Taylor @ 10:14 PM Sat, Oct 25, 2008

I can't figure out who drives me more nuts: this team or this team's so-called "fans".

Are they playing well right now? No they're not. A team shouldn't have to score five a night to win. You really can't expect to win if you're giving up 30+ shots a night (unless you're facing the Islanders, who reeled of 60 tonight and lost).

I still think a lot of the issues have to do with defense. The young guys are having some issues (Niskanen is -6 and Fistric -2) and the forwards are not playing as defensive as they could (Bruunstom is a good example of this. His goal scoring prowess is obvious, but he's not defending as well as he could). We've got young players who are still learning the game and having "sophmore slumps" (even Ovechkin had one, if you count 42 goals a "slump"). And we have others (Ribeiro, Morrow, Richards, Avery) who are startin to come around and play better.

Has Turco been part of the problem? He has and I think he'll be the first to tell you that. He's had two puck handling issues that have led to goals for the opposition and hasn't stopped shots he probably should have. But he'll be the first to tell you that. If anything, Marty admits he's responsible for his actions and says the right things. He does need to start "doing" instead of just "talking". Which I think he will and the good ship Dallas Stars will turn around. Am I against Tobias Stephen playing a full game? Not at all (I don't want Marty playing 65 this year) and we need to see what he has.

I still think he's taking too much blame here. The entire team isn't playing as well as they could and I think they know that. Are Lehtinen and Zubov the answer? Maybe. Zubov's a good tutor and Lehtinen is, well, Lehtinen.

Guys and gals just a reminder: it's JUST. TEN. GAMES. It's an 82 game season. So can we wait a month in before calling this a disaster?

Please?

The Stars may not be shining brightly, but they certainly haven't burned out. Plenty of hockey to play. Plenty.