Let's Just Get into the Postseason, Already!
The Stars have unraveled somewhat due to a mixture of new faces and
PPP to several key players. (Player Physical Problems, you know,
just can't say that I Word!). Dallas has faced several tough
opponents recently, and these opponents tore apart the transitional
Stars with relative ease.
Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya were able to put on a big show during
the April 26 meeting in Anaheim. Dallas' defense broke down
repeatedly and appeared to be helpless to stop or even slow down
the Flying Finn and his talented cohort. Anaheim eventually
embarrassed Dallas to the tune of 5-1 after it became apparent the
Stars were not going to mount any attack of their own, most of the
night was devoted to chasing around the Ducks' top line.
Things didn't go much better for the Stars a week later in St.
Louis. It was to be Brett Hull's chance to return to the home of
the Blues and show his former team exactly what they missed when
they allowed Hully to head south to Dallas. Well, Brett did score.
But that goal ended up being meaningless as Pavol Demitra and his
mates ran roughshod over Dallas, this time to a 5-2 conclusion.
Demitra racked up an impressive two-goal, two-assist night as Dallas
was caught without leading centermen Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, and
Guy Carbonneau. The Stars ended up chasing around the Blues for the
puck most of this game, since they were unable to win any faceoffs
due to the lack of centermen. Demitra answered all the questions of
those who wondered if he could fill Hull's skates, so to speak.
The Stars did have a slightly better game defensively, but Big Daddy
Hatch is obviously wishing his partner Matvichuk and the mobile
veteran Shawn Chambers would re-join their positions on the blue
line. Hatcher was showing signs of wear and tear after taking a puck
to the eye (a nasty bruise), and was not playing to his usual great
form.
Dallas' calling card of airtight D and a relentless forecheck have
gone very far to the wayside as coach Hitchcock and his team
scramble just to remain competitive for the team's last few games
headed into the big show.
No game was a better demonstration of just how far the Stars have
truly slipped from their regular-season championship form than when
the Big, Bad Detroit Red Wings cruised into town and toasted
Dallas. Hatcher recovered well from a bad night in St. Louis, and
shored up the D-men for a pretty decent game. The Stars were
holding pretty closely to the Wings, but for whatever reasons,
Dallas failed to capitalize on at least three prime scoring
chances, and Detroit was perfectly capable of finishing every
single chance they had.
Dallas' offense appeared to be a bit discombobulated. But who could
blame them, since the lines Hitch patched together for the night
had mostly never played together before. Derek Plante centering for
Jon Sim and Blake Sloan? Not exactly your usual Stars lineup.
Dallas hasn't had four consistent lines to roll over since sometime
in January-February.
Getting back to the game, Brett Hull missed an open net early, and
then went on to place a beautiful snapshot directly into the glove
of a waiting Osgood as it appeared Dallas was about to net their
first goal of the evening. That first goal never came, because once
the Red Wings smelled blood from the falling Stars, they sealed up
the rest of the game in an airtight container and sent the two
points home to Hockeytown. The final period was a comical exercise
in futility for Dallas' forwards.
While the team hasn't totally lost all composure, it is very clear
Hitchcock certainly has his work cut out for him to reassemble this
rag-tag group into a cohesive, competitive team again. The power
play has slipped from first in the league into what could be called
a joke.
Even when all the players do return to the lineup, there will still
be some trouble to form the final units for the playoffs since
newcomers Derek Plante, Jon Sim and Blake Sloan have impressed
Hitchcock with their speed and youthful tenacity. Things might be
tough for Brian Skrewy Skrudland when he finally does make it back
from that nasty chest contusion - he might have a few youngsters
battling hard to keep him out of work.
On a more positive note, the Stars played down to last-place Tampa
Bay in a wild game of first-meets-worst on March 31, and ended up
winning 6-4 as the two teams traded goals in what could best be
described as a game of shinny or pond hockey. There was very little
rhyme or reason to this game, and both teams just rolled over lines
and shot the dice, hoping for a goal here and there. When it came
down to it, Dallas still had enough firepower to win, but man was
it ugly.
Both newcomers Jon Sim and D-man Brad Lukowich netted their first
NHL career goals this game, which surely is some sort of rare
record being broken. Both guys were overjoyed and ran around the
ice looking for some love afterwards. That kind of puts the whole
thing into perspective, considering Dallas' usual reserved tone
since they are comprised of mostly jaded veterans. But on this
night at least, the kids got a chance to shine in the spotlight for
a few minutes. A little excitement here and there from the Stars is
a good thing, especially lately.
The balance of power is definitely shifting in the west. Here's
hoping that the Stars haven't blown themselves out in getting to
this great regular-season record. It would be a crime of tragic
proportions if Dallas made another early bye-round similar to what
happened at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers a few years back.
But, history is clearly against Dallas this time, since no
President's Trophy winner has ever gone on to take the big
enchilada. And, there is no denying the Red Wings' 6-0 streak since
the trades that rocked the hockey world. The Avs will surely have
something to say about this as well. As Patrick Roy was recently
quoted as saying, don't box up that Cup to be shipped to Big D just
yet. If the Stars do pull it off, then they will obviously be in
pretty rarefied air.
Other Notes:
*So who do you keep - Belfour or Turek? Is Turek the goalie of the
future? Is Belfour a high-priced netminder on the decline? Can
either one of them hold together long enough to win it all?
For the answers to this and many other interesting questions - stay
tuned. Same bat-time, same bat- channel!
