Yes, it's my no-brainer comment of the night, folks. But I seem to be battling some sort of flu bug, so you're not getting the usual magic out of me tonight. (No comments on that one, please).
Anyway, onto the Stars. They needed to tighten everything up and did that for the most part, other than a little sloppy play in the second period which led to a needless Phoenix goal and an even more needless tight game. Ah well, Rome wasn't built in a day and this team won't be rebuilt in a day, either.
Some post-game comments:
Mike Modano: "It's certainly something we needed desperately. We did some OK things tonight that hopefully will move us in the right direction."
Dave Tippett: "That’s how this franchise has been successful for a long time: playing hard, playing together as a team and structurally limiting mistakes. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to win. We just have to do that a lot more often."
Some tidbits:
Love, love, love how Loui Eriksson is playing this season. The type of goals he scored tonight were the ones he was missing on last season, so you can see the maturity level is there. And the best part for him is his defensive play hasn't lessed with his offense rising. Mike Ribeiro said it best: "In the last 10 games I think he's been our best player."
Speaking of Ribeiro, the Stars need more of that from him, and not just against the Phoenix Coyotes. Ribeiro was put on more of a hard-nosed line (message sent) with Steve Ott and Krys Barch, and he knew he may have needed that.
Another message sent (I believe): Philippe Boucher's healthy scratch. He just hasn't been where he needs to be so far this season, and it led to his sitting. I know Matt Niskanen hasn't been so great this year either, but I believe Tippett's wanting to send messages to longtime players, not sophomores.
Doug Janik played well in his first full game with the Stars. Nothing too fancy, just getting to the right spots. Said Tippett, "He's been very patient for his opportunity and he took it and ran with it. I like his communication skills; that makes it easier for his partner to know what's going on."
OK, kids, early flight back again tomorrow and no practice. The Stars soooo needed this one. Not a big to-do, but it's something. Maybe it'll at least help get their minds straightened out these next few days.
Tracey,
The win was a small positive step. I still feel however, with "playing as a team", "trusting each other" etc.,etc as objectives,the "new line combos of the night" strategy almost every game is starting to bother me..I think chemistry,cohesion,trust is facilitated more easily when the 5 guys on the ice at any one time are relatively consistent.....Your thoughts?,fellow blogger thoughts?
Posted by: Brooklun Bill | November 16, 2008 at 11:09 AM