OK, kids, you need to set yourself apart on these blogs, so here's my attempt. For every home game from here on out, I'm going to give a Top 10 review. Feel free to tell me what ya think. Here we go:
1, Another game, another rookie. Congratulations to Ray Sawada, who became the sixth Stars player in franchise history and third this season to score in his NHL debut. It wasn't the most sizzling shot, but it got the job done. And the birthday boy (he turned 24 today) was loving it. So was his coach. "Opportunity knocks for another guy, and on the second, third shift of his career he gets a goal," coach Dave Tippett said. "It’s a great story isn’t it?" Couldn't agree more.
2, Temper, temper. These two have a lot of history, a lot of animosity, and tonight a lot of hits (48-34 Oilers, according to the scoresheet). Some of those were in the final few minutes, when the Oilers swarmed on no-fighting-in-effect Steve Ott after he was penalized for interfering with Tom Gilbert. More fisticuffs ensued. Said Ott, "when you have three guys on top of you not much you can do. I just laid there and let the refs sort it out, and I thought they sorted it out pretty good."
3, Unsung hero. Great night for Mike Modano, who won eight of 11 faceoffs, played the most minutes of any forward (20:54) and did everything but get on the scoreboard. Was that Michael who commented on here that Modano would find his fountain of youth again? Good call, sir.
4, Well done, Fabian. I know the kid has holes in his game, but offense isn't one of them. An assist and his fifth game-winner of the season, and he leads all rookies there. How do you say "well done" in Swedish?
5, Late, great kill. Could've gotten ugly with Edmonton's 4-on-3, then 5-on-3 in the final five minutes. Stars stay stoic, and it's a moot point.
6, He said it, part I: Dave Tippett on the Stars buying the "everyone must contribute" talk: "When you see Barch and Sawada get your first two goals, everyone’s taking it to heart."
7, He said it, part II: Fabian Brunnstrom, who assisted on Krys Barch's first home goal of the season: "I heard archy yelling, “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” So I shoot and he scores."
8. The Jere effect. Jere Lehtinen scores late to pad the Stars lead, and all is well. It usually is when he scores: The Stars are 6-1 this season when he has.
9, Marty Party continues. He played in his 28th straight, and is now 11-4-0 in his last 15. Goals-against average is 1.83 in those games. At home, it's even better: 7-1-0 in his last eight, with a 1.24 GAA. Anyone think we'd see this again last October/November?
10, Oh yeah, Ribeiro. Mike Ribeiro with two more assists tonight, Nos. 38 and 39 this season. And the No. 1 line looks No. 1 again.
-- Tracey Myers
Love it. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite much less put them in order.
The only thing you missed was Otter having the "A" on his sweater!
Posted by: Laughs 2 Loud | February 21, 2009 at 09:52 AM