...........

    You know why I did that? Because I'm running out of things to say when the Stars play a game like what we just saw tonight. I don't get it. Yes, I know this isn't last year's team; there's a lot of different personnel. But to go from one extreme to the other in your performances? That's what has me puzzled.

    OK, first a quick look to tomorrow night: Marty Turco will start. We all kind of saw that coming with Tobias Stephan starting against Chicago, but there it is confirmed.

    Now, back to other things. Don't know what Brad Richards' status is for the Boston game. Don't even really know what his injury is, thanks to the new don't-have-to-tell-you-anything policy in the NHL. His absence wasn't even close to the problem tonight, but the Stars don't have bodies to spare in the forward department.

    There was mention of the ice conditions not being great.. apparently that was just for one team. The odd-man rushes? Don't even know how to explain them, or at least that many of them. It's one thing for a goaltender to face almost 30 shots, but the type of shots he was facing? Ridiculous.

    OK, I'm done for now. The Stars had better play their butts off in Boston, or this is going to be one long, long five-day break before their West Coast trip.

Comments

[rev0lver19]

I think you're dead wrong about Richards' absence not being a big problem. He was replaced on his line by Chris Conner and/or Toby Peterson, neither of which are capable of replacing his skill. He was fresh off being 1st star in the game most have declared their best of the year, with his line being the most effective.

Tonight Morrow and Ribiero were pretty dominant but could only muster 1 goal. The other goal was obviously a great individual play by Ott, but in general the Ott/Avery line wasn't terribly effective without Richards. With him playing is this a win? Not if the defensive breakdowns still occur. But they likely would have had that 2nd strong line carry over from last game to provide a better balance with Ribiero/Morrow, and he has the tendency to make others around him play better. Also without Richards, there is a lot less maneuvering you can do if you need to juggle lines - for instance if you need more offense, apparently Richards and Brunnstrum are a decent fit...

[Dwain]

It's got to be frustrating trying to write for a team that you can't come close to explaining. They have too much talent. The players don't seem turned off with Tippett. The coaches appear to be giving the proper guidance but the guys for some reason look lost. It is really frustrating to see them play a really strong game then the next game like it's the first time they have played together.

[Tracey]

rev0lver:
I should have clarified myself on that Richards comment. I meant that, in last night's game, his absence wasn't the biggest on-ice issue. Yes, he would have helped the power play and given the Stars another line, but considering how many defensive issues there were, I don't know if even that would've helped. Now if Richards is out for any length of time, then, yes, the Stars have a big ol' problem.

[rev0lver19]

Yeah you're right, their defense was rather porous and no one guy can fix that (well, perhaps a Turco on his game). It would have been nice to see Lundqvist in there as well, he can really complete a line. Hopefully tonight they'll make adjustments, and Marty has a game!