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Articles by Micaela Hamid
Dallas Stars: Things We Shouldn’t Shrug Off From 2017-18 Season
Now that the Dallas Stars 2017-18 campaign is spent and we’re facing down a long and unsure off season, it’s easy to see the season as a waste. As time we’ll never get back. In reality, it’s just another chapter in the Dallas Stars story, full of its ups and downs and pros and cons, just like any other chapter. While our expectations for a straight path to success may have done us in here, let’s not miss the opportunity to see the pieces that did come together this season.
Dallas Stars Open Road Trip With Loss To Pittsburgh Penguins
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 5: Ken Hitchcock, head coach of the Dallas Stars before a game against the Ottawa Senators at the American Airlines Center on March 5, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) Everyone has their own pet peeves. Some folks hate the sound of chewing, others can’t stand to be cut off in traffic. Me? Well, without taking the time to clue you in on the many things that rub me the wrong way, last night’s loss to the Penguins is my pet peeve.
Dallas Stars: Starting To Feel Pinched Down the Homestretch
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 5: Ken Hitchcock, head coach of the Dallas Stars before a game against the Ottawa Senators at the American Airlines Center on March 5, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) The Dallas Stars announced today that Martin Hanzal will soon undergo a serious back surgery that will keep him out of the rest of the season for sure and potentially the start of the next season.
Dallas Stars: Reviewing A Busy Weekend For The Team
I took my first ever trip to Dallas last week. And on Thursday, during my first ever game at the AAC, the “welcome home Dallas Stars fans” pre-game montage on the Jumbotron really gave me some unexpected feels. Let me back up, though.
Dallas Stars: Rest of Road Trip Needs To Trend Upward
Ever since the Dallas Stars overtook the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division last Friday night, things have seemed to go a bit sideways for them. While it’s not quite fair to just say that they’ve slowed down since rising in the standings, it has been clear that they were better chasing the spot than they are in it.
Dallas Stars: Time To Level Up Again In Playoff Race
The Stars stayed in it to win it last night and their prize was not only a win against the rival Blues, but the third place in the Central Division. Their performance really was that of a top-tier team, a collaboration of players who are really working hard to take their team to the next level. So in many ways, this is a milestone for Dallas. It points back to the bold and exuberant team that topped out the Central Division (and the whole Western Conference) in 2016.
Dallas Stars: Stakes Are High In Central Division Tonight
It feels like it’s been forever since we had some Dallas Stars hockey to watch, but the burn of their last lost is still fresh as ever. And not for any particular reason. The Stars had a hot spell spanning five games before that, and we’re believers that they’ll make it back to that starting tonight. But sometimes losses like that make you slow your own roll and realize, well gosh, I guess my team isn’t perfect.
Dallas Stars Showing Some Serious Grit Down The Stretch
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 20: Dallas Stars players celebrate a goal against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on January 20, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** When the odds are against us, sometimes we can make ourselves feel better by coming up with excuses before we even know the outcome.
Dallas Stars Need Royal Performance Against Los Angeles Kings
How cryptic would it be of me to say this is the beginning of the end? In either case, it is in a way. The Dallas Stars have hit the home stretch of the season where every point lost or won has significance and consequence. While All-Star weekend was a nice distraction, it’s clear that the Stars were not interested in being distracted from the work ahead of them. And tonight, that work starts with the L.A. Kings.
Dallas Stars: Moving Forward From All-Star Weekend
The NHL’s all-star weekend is kind of like licorice jellybeans. You either love them or hate them, without any real viable options in between. While we often love to see our favorite players in more laid-back situations that don’t affect their team standing, sometimes a break from reality can feel a bit tedious when reality is shaping up to be pretty important.
Dallas Stars: Emotions Bringing Out Their Best In Play
As a child, when I heard the phrase “don’t let your emotions get the best of you,” it was like a madly waving red flag warning me that I was probably about to do something stupid. As a child, of course, one seldom heeds these warnings and goes on to do the aforementioned stupid thing. In this case, your emotions got the best of you. And while the phrase has a negative connotation, if anyone can name it and claim it and turn it around, it’s the Dallas Stars.
Dallas Stars Look To Keep Rolling Against Columbus Blue Jackets
Bye week was pretty good to the Dallas Stars, and now they’re back in action and still in their wildcard slot. Given the Stars’ recent string of smart and effective play and the results they’ve garnered, they’re secure in that spot for now. The Blue Jackets are within the top of the East, but they’ve had some bad luck lately. Columbus is coming off its own bye week and went into it in a less than desirable way.
Dallas Stars Look To Make Most of Matinee With Oilers
Although the Stars failed to pull out a win against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the made it clear that they have no intentions of falling down and staying down. Their follow-up game against the Devils could have ended in a very similar fashion, but the Stars demonstrated tenacity, determination, and that ever-illusive mental toughness that wins games and seasons as a whole.
Dallas Stars: Bringing In New Year With Central Division Fireworks
For a team that’s been on top of the division within the last two seasons, the Dallas Stars sure can disappoint sometimes when it comes to holding their own against divisional rivals. While it is one of the toughest groups in the NHL with teams that are improving all the time and clawing tooth and nail to be on top, we sometimes expect more out of the Stars than what we get, in terms of the Central Division.
Dallas Stars Are Starting To Make A Bold Statement
After Christmas comes in all its whirlwind magic and excitement, we can be left feeling a bit of a void the day after. That is, until we orient ourselves toward contemplating the year behind us and the one ahead. Did we achieve the goals we set for ourselves last year around this same time? Did we stay true to the changes we wanted to make and the ways we promised that we would better ourselves?
Dallas Stars: Overtime Mentality Needs Complete Overhaul
When the NHL first introduced the overtime theee-on-three format, the Dallas Stars took to it like a fish to water. They seemed to do well dominating in extra time for a while. At this time, the Stars also weren’t your best team when it came to holding their own in the last period. It seemed as though if they made themselves desperate enough in the last frame, they could work themselves up to a truly epic performance when it came to free hockey time.
Dallas Stars Will Pay Penalty For Racking Up Minutes
As we grow older and mature, one lesson we all seem to learn is the concept choices and their consequences, and how to avoid them. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Don’t write checks that you can’t cash. Even the idea of Chaos Theory, which explains that the smallest action may have large and unanticipated consequences- all these sayings teach us that when we do things (or fail to do things), that other things (and often unpleasant ones) will happen as a result.
Dallas Stars: Performance In Philadelphia Will Speak Volumes
SUNRISE, FL - NOVEMBER 14: Dallas Stars Head Coach Ken Hitchcock directs his team from the bench during a break in the action against the Florida Panthers at the BB The Dallas Stars’ road trip up north had been swinging their thanks to a lot of hard work, a gritty dedication, and mindfulness of weaknesses. While they were able to get ahead early on, their loss to the Devils last night proves that they are a team still under construction.
Dallas Stars: Seesaw Season Needs Serious Balance
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 06: Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (90) and Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brendan Leipsic (13) fight for the puck during a face-off during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights on October 6, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Vegas defeats Dallas 2-1. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) When you stop to think about it, opposite extremes dictate much of our lives.
Dallas Stars: Radek Faksa Shines In Epic Road Win Over Vegas
A whole bunch of special things happened for the Dallas Stars last night. It hasn’t been the smoothest sailing so far this season, and the Stars have really been feeling the stress and strain of the road. Against a hot team like Vegas, it all seemed a bit more daunting. But the Stars did have a few tricks up their sleeve in last night’s game. First off, the dads were along for the ride and no doubt added a measure of extra motivation.
Dallas Stars: Why Losing To The Florida Panthers Is Misleading
Dallas struck out in the shootout last night in Florida, which is never the outcome one hopes for in a road game when one’s team is trying to find its stride and get finally ahead. They didn’t have their ideal outcome the game before in Carolina, either. But in the midst of constructive criticisms and room for improvement, there is one thing that the Stars have been getting right lately, and that’s leadership.
Dallas Stars Can Bounce Back Against Eastern Conference
The Stars’ play tonight will center around one thing: preventing a repeat of Monday. Winnipeg at home was a tough game to lose mentally, but physically also as it resulted in the injury of multiple players. So with Radek Faksa, Tyler Pitlick, Brett Ritchie, and Marc Methot all grounded for the time being, how do the Stars get back to that depth scoring that had th flying high just before all of this awful losing nonsense?
Dallas Stars: Learning To Compete In Central Division
The Stars’ loss to the Jets this Monday at home was arguably one of the most disappointing losses of the season. Coming off their first long roadtrip of the season, where they suffered the first of their stinging losses to the Jets, the Stars were looking to get some closure by tromping the Jets on their home turf. But the exact opposite happened. The Jets showed up in Dallas just as they had back in Winnipeg, leaving the Stars still grasping and wondering where their chances went.
Dallas Stars: Ben Bishop Making All The Difference For Team
It’s late into the second period of the last of a two-game match up between the Stars and the Coyotes. The Stars have played well to come back from behind early on, but have lost some focus in the second period and the Coyotes have taken advantage. It’s tied up at two and both teams are surging with adrenaline, trying to pull ahead. Then, Alexander Radulov stumbles into a giveaway and Derek Stepan readies himself for the hat trick.
Dallas Stars Pick Off Coyotes To Start First Win Streak Of Season
Okay, it wasn’t neck and neck in every sense. The Stars came out ahead by multiples in the 3-1 win last night, but the score doesn’t quite reflect the struggle. At times during the night, the Stars seemed winded and flustered, but at other points were soaring high. The high points were what put them ahead early and kept them ahead throughout. The lower lines really shined in this match-up, with Radek Faksa and Mattias Janmark combining to get on the board first.
Dallas Stars: Hunt For Valuable Points Still On
Stars fans are in various states of disappointment after they dropped two games back to back to open up their season. While it’s not quite time to panic yet, no one can deny that we wished for a little bit of a different outcome. Many factors have contributed to the unexpected season start, but most of them are expected. The Dallas Stars are adjusting to a new system corporately, and many players are adjusting to a totally new environment individually as well.
Dallas Stars: Expectations For Opening Night
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 13: A general view of play between the Anaheim Ducks and the Dallas Stars during opening night of the 2016-2017 season at American Airlines Center on October 13, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) It’s finally the day we’ve all been waiting for. Our expectations and visions for what this season could hold have been cultivated all summer, building up and building up to this point.
Dallas Stars: 2017 Preseason Probably On Upward Trend
We all like a good “Dallas Stars over St. Louis Blues” win. And when it’s the first real bit of hockey you’ve seen for months and the start of a highly anticipated season, it’s even better. The Stars did impress last night in their preseason opener, but put on a performance that was not so perfect as to be unbelievable. In the at-times scrappy 5-3 victory, the Stars pulled out some lessons that are good to recognize and learn early on.
Dallas Stars: Predicting Potential Injuries In New Season
A big deciding factor in the downfall of the Dallas Stars’ 16-17 season was the early and often onslaught of injuries. It seemed like all they could do to keep the roster updated with healthy forwards enough to create the needed lines. Injuries have been something the Stars have faced at annoying intervals here and there, and they’ve come back to bite the Stars at the most inopportune times. High hopes were destroyed and the outcome of seasons diverted in mere moments.
Dallas Stars Shine: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza Step Up In Community
The Dallas Stars have always been a charitable and community minded organization, so with a new season around the corner, the only thing left to do is keep the good times rolling. The Stars are forever keeping it classy and fun with their community-minded outreaches and fundraisers, and this time two players are stepping up to keep giving back.
Dallas Stars: Winning Popularity Contest In 17-18 Season
The Dallas Stars universe seems to be getting bigger and bigger all the time and we couldn’t be more excited about it. There are many familiar things to come as the Stars roll into a new season: participation in charity efforts and the imminence of training camp are among some of the exciting things we’re used to with a new season on the horizon. However, we’ve witnessed the advent of some new excitements this summer.
Dallas Stars Season Depends On Taking One Step At A Time
The Dallas Stars’ newly acquired goalkeeper, Ben Bishop, gave some pretty sage advice in a recent interview: don’t think too far ahead. Ironically enough, the Stars seemed to have fallen right into that philosophy pretty smoothly over this offseason. Bishop claims that the sweet spot in staying grounded and not getting off course during the season is to play with a “game by game” mindset. And focusing on the short term is exactly what the Stars hadn’t been doing during the 16-17 season.
Dallas Stars’ Money Fight of 2017-2018
After a pretty monumental event for the boxing world last night, it’s safe to say that watching people try to slug each other makes me, at least, even more antsy for the new hockey season to begin. Nothing against boxing, but there’s just something more magical about watching a hockey fight, am I right? It has all the same poignancy and weight and gripping nature, but you’ve got to admire someone who can engage in a fight while balancing on skates while both using and dodging bare fists.
Dallas Stars’ Training Camp Set To Be High-Stakes Start To 2017 Season
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 30: The frayed glove of Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (5) during a regular season NHL game between the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars on March 30, 2017, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Stars 2-0.
Dallas Stars Have Age, Experience Where They Need It
It’s a shame that “younger and wiser” just doesn’t have the ring to it that “older and wiser” does. Everyone wants experience and a clear vision of the path ahead without having to pay for it in years. Unfortunately, life often doesn’t work that way. Thankfully, hockey doesn’t always have to work in the exact same ways that life does. An attribute that the Dallas Stars have been casually looking to add to their ranks over the last few seasons has been that same “older and wiser” factor.
Dallas Stars Hosting Sled Hockey During September
DALLAS, TX - APRIL 16: the Dallas Stars take the ice against the Minnesota Wild in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on April 16, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) The Dallas Stars just aren’t sit-back and do nothing kind of guys. There have been several charity events that are constants on the Stars calendar, and sled hockey events have always been a favorite.
Dallas Stars’ Central Division Opponents May Decline This Season
It’s no secret that the Central Division is tough- one of the harshest environments in the NHL. The Dallas Stars have gone back and forth in terms of dealing with their division opponents, capping off their 2015-16 campaign as division leaders but failing to take their game much further in 2016-17. And in games against these division foes, tensions can run high and raise the stakes, making these important games for the Dallas Stars. In the past, these were often toss-up games.
Dallas Stars: 2018 Could Be Year Of Hockey For Dallas
DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 22: The Dallas Stars skate onto the ice before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at American Airlines Center on December 22, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Well, the rumors are true. Everybody had better pack their portable fans and appetite for southwestern fun for next summer’s draft. Although we had our suspicions, the fact that the 2018 Entry Draft is coming to Texas is as surprising as it is exciting.
Dallas Stars Will Strengthen Rivalries In 2017-2018 Season
We Dallas Stars fans are no strangers to a little healthy, and sometimes rather not so healthy, competition. It’s led us into some pretty severe dislike and naysaying against multiple teams. The list is long and wide, fed by many different factors. Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues- it could go on practically forever.
DALLAS, TX - APRIL 29: Ken Hitchcock, head coach of the St. Louis Blues watches the action from the bench against the Dallas Stars in Game One of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on April 29, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) Leave it to your favorite neighborhood pessimist.
We’ve been analyzing the Stars’ offseason moves for weeks now, and there are many reasons why we think they will snowball and make the team into something better than it was before. However, my main talent in life is finding the one negative thing to nit-pick at in the midst of a good situation. And even the hockey world is not safe from my talent.
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: Miro Heiskanen puts on a Dallas Stars hat after being selected third overall during the 2017 NHL Draft at the United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) If you’ve been keeping up at all with Blackout Dallas this summer, then you know that we’re all pretty excited about how the Dallas Stars’ offseason has developed.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Cody Eakin is selected by the Las Vegas Golden Knights during the 2017 NHL Awards and Expansion Draft at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Sometimes in life, you take risks. Sometimes they are calculated, and other times not so much. And still in different circumstances, you have to know when to sit down and shut up.
For a time of year when no games are scheduled, summer sure is a crazy time to be a hockey fan. It seems each new offseason, teams are reborn and it can take us (and let’s be honest, them) some time to figure out how to integrate pieces of a new identity into the working parts of an old one. This seems to be working to the Stars’ benefit this summer. Their last-season identity left a lot to be desired, although deep at the core of them is a winning team that wants to get out.
So it’s official that the Dallas Stars are having a not-so-secret love affair with the idea of Russian players. With Valeri Nichushkin and the prospects they’ve chased down that reminded them of his potential, the Stars haven’t seen a maximum return on investment yet. Nichushkin’s return is still uncertain and Denis Guryanov has been sticking mostly to the minors.
Apr 22, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of victory plaza before the game between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild in game five of the first round 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports For the last couple weeks, it seems the Dallas Stars have constantly been in the crossfires of some important decision, breaking news, or significant event.
Feb 18, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of Dallas Stars hats thrown on the ice after Stars left wing Antoine Roussel (not pictured) scores a hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Although the Dallas Stars, as predicted, lost Cody Eakin to the Golden Knights, the rest of the weekend provided some sweet to make up for the bitter.
Feb 27, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Valeri Nichushkin (43) takes the ice to face the New York Rangers at the American Airlines Center. The Rangers defeat the Stars 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Although it was a standard procedure, no-surprises kind of affair, we’ve been pouring over and analyzing the Dallas Stars’ expansion draft protected list ever since it was released yesterday morning.
This is a summer of change for the Stars. New staff, different draft picks, expansion draft loss- the list goes on. The majority of the change, though, has made us pretty hopeful so far. It was clear that the Dallas Stars’ old system didn’t work. Solution? Not an overhaul, but a few tweaks across the board.
Feb 28, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; A detailed view of hockey sticks and the puck in a face-off during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Penguins 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports When the playoffs began, I decided right out to root for whoever ended up pitted against the Penguins- and I have a feeling some of you were with me.
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