Tra's House of Blues Top 5

I'm running out of titles, because they've all had a dismal tinge to them. But what else can you do at this point? Onto the countdown:
    1, Too many injuries. Yeah, this is a no-brainer, but we can't deny it anymore. The Stars may have finally reached too-hurt status. We all know the long-term guys out. Then Jere Lehtinen is out again. Fabian Brunnstrom was out tonight. Mark Parrish was knocked hard in the first period and didn't return. Too many dings, not nearly enough healthy guys to make up for them. And what health you do have is now being run ragged making up minutes.
    2, Neal is still great. James Neal was the Stars' best player tonight. The guy's fire is so evident right now, and he scored his 22nd goal this season. If he could take the whole team on his back he'd probably try and do it. As it stands, he's doing his part.
    3, Turco, not so much. Marty Turco had an awful night. Three goals on eight shots, and 11:56 into this one he was gone. If the Stars are going to get through this time, they need to rely heavily on goaltending. Tonight, it was not there at all.
    4, St. Louis, the other Chicago. The Blues have become another version of the Blackhawks this season: They both just tee off on the Stars. Dallas is now 0-3-0 against the Blues this season, and have been outscored 14-4 in those games. Too much youth, speed and venom. Yikes.
    5, Coming home again. Remember when that used to be a good thing? Not right now. The Stars will try to end a six-game losing skid here on Thursday. But unless they get a body or two back, it may be more of the same.

So what do we think, kids?

-- Tracey Myers

Comments

[dwain]

#1: Yep. Too many guys been and are hurt. The survivors are being run in the ground which leads to weary mistakes, mental and physical.
#2: Neal and some of the other young guns make the coming years look exciting. Helps to offset the current mess.
#3: Turco, don't know what the problem is.
#4: Blackhawks and Blues really expose the Stars lack of speed and lack of crashing the net.
#5: At this point, or lack of points, it doesn't matter if it's home or road.

Would have been interesting to see what would have happened this year without all the injuries. But that's life. On to the next game.

[Danny]

# 2 Why is a rookie your best player in this type of situation. The veterans should be leading and they are not. Give all the credit to neal, he is doing awesome, more than expected. But im starting to wonder if their are too many pieces here trying to mesh and bring it all together. Their is no cohesivness with all the injuries and new players brought in. its just too tough. Man, I hope they can somehow, someway find their way in...Then who knows. They are right there and just need a spark to turn it around....Lets go Stars!