OT Stars Hockey

[ESPN Refugee]

Kari looks to be seriously back. Glad to see Benn finally score a goal. Daley and Goose both played well. All around a very good win with a chance to go for the sweep in Edmonton on Sunday.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

6 out of 6 points in this trip. It wasn't pretty tonight but impressive to come back from 5-2 even if it's against the lowly Oilers and that too with Lindback coming in the game in the middle.

 

[Justinkm83]

6 out of 6 points in this trip. It wasn't pretty tonight but impressive to come back from 5-2 even if it's against the lowly Oilers and that too with Lindback coming in the game in the middle.

It's nice to get some W's. It's going to take a streak to get back into the picture. I don't know how happy I am about it. A few posters on here sold me on the idea of getting a top 3 pick to get one of the studs in the draft.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

It's nice to get some W's. It's going to take a streak to get back into the picture. I don't know how happy I am about it. A few posters on here sold me on the idea of getting a top 3 pick to get one of the studs in the draft.

They're not bad enough to fall into the top 3 and they're just not wired that way. Getting a top 3 pick was just out of the question. The core and nucleus is already in place. Can't have the possibility to instill a losing mindset to a young team especially after they did show us they are a playoff team from last year.

 

[WilltheThrill]

They're not bad enough to fall into the top 3 and they're just not wired that way. Getting a top 3 pick was just out of the question. The core and nucleus is already in place. Can't have the possibility to instill a losing mindset to a young team especially after they did show us they are a playoff team from last year.

They're still closer to having a top 3 pick than they are having a top 8 playoff seed, even after the road trip. It's nonsense to suggest that a top 3 is "out of the question". Last year doesn't matter. This year does. And this year's team isn't good enough to make the playoffs, much less make some noise once they get there. Their defense is still awful. They just gave up 5 to the awful Oilers. Before tonight's win, they had the 9th worst record and were just a few points away from the bottom 5.

I love the Stars more than any other team. I want what's best for them long-term. Finishing 9th-10th in the West is about the worst possible outcome possible, and that's where they're headed. Outside of Seguin, Benn, and Spezza, they don't have another true elite player in the system. Finishing in the bottom 3 would give them another elite stud ready to play in the NHL right away. I'm tired of mediocrity. I want a dominant dynasty for several years. And despite your assessment that the "core is in place", the fact is that their core, while solid, does not contain enough elite talent to match up with the likes of Chicago and LA.

The Spurs tanked hard the season before Tim Duncan entered the draft and it set them up for 15 years of dominance. I guarantee you that one season of "instilling a losing mindset" would be easily offset by the addition of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

You're only kidding yourself if you think that finishing 10th or at best getting beat again in Round 1 of the playoffs would be in any way beneficial to the Stars.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

They're still closer to having a top 3 pick than they are having a top 8 playoff seed, even after the road trip. It's nonsense to suggest that a top 3 is "out of the question". Last year doesn't matter. This year does. And this year's team isn't good enough to make the playoffs, much less make some noise once they get there. Their defense is still awful. They just gave up 5 to the awful Oilers. Before tonight's win, they had the 9th worst record and were just a few points away from the bottom 5.

I love the Stars more than any other team. I want what's best for them long-term. Finishing 9th-10th in the West is about the worst possible outcome possible, and that's where they're headed. Outside of Seguin, Benn, and Spezza, they don't have another true elite player in the system. Finishing in the bottom 3 would give them another elite stud ready to play in the NHL right away. I'm tired of mediocrity. I want a dominant dynasty for several years. And despite your assessment that the "core is in place", the fact is that their core, while solid, does not contain enough elite talent to match up with the likes of Chicago and LA.

The Spurs tanked hard the season before Tim Duncan entered the draft and it set them up for 15 years of dominance. I guarantee you that one season of "instilling a losing mindset" would be easily offset by the addition of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

You're only kidding yourself if you think that finishing 10th or at best getting beat again in Round 1 of the playoffs would be in any way beneficial to the Stars.

Absolutely the holes in the defense is still there but in reality the top 3 would be out of the question because I believe this team has enough talent to not fall that low. And like I said the players, coaches and staffs are generally not wired that way. I'm not opposed to tanking truth be told but in reality that's not going to happen. Sometimes you're going to have games where you don't play well and give up 5 big ones even to the Oilers. You're right Benn, Spezza, and Seguin are truly the elite class players we know of but I'll put in that Val has the hopes of becoming an elite level type player when it's all done. You may be right that there may be no benefit in being a one and done in the playoffs I don't know. I do know that tanking doesn't always work but this season can be that exception due to the elite players that are supposed to be the real deal.

I don't foresee the blue line getting a whole lot better but I do think their offense and likely their goaltending will be just good enough to to compete for the wild card spots even if it will be nothing more than a big tease. I do wonder what Nill does with Cole and Horcoff since they're both FA's at the end of the year and given their position in the standings if Nill would deal them if they're still just on the outside looking in.

In the end I still don't see this team tanking. While it's great to think of the possibility McDavid or Eichel can bring I just don't see that happening and the organization going that route.

 

[WilltheThrill]

4-0 whipping at the hands of the "mighty" Leafs. I was at the game, 3rd row from the glass, and they just aren't even competitive. They aren't a playoff team as currently constructed.

Again, tank.

 

[Nightcrawler]

4-0 whipping at the hands of the "mighty" Leafs. I was at the game, 3rd row from the glass, and they just aren't even competitive. They aren't a playoff team as currently constructed.

Again, tank.

Careful..... I got criticized for suggesting the Rangers tank after all of their good players except Beltre went down.

 

[romeo212000]

Careful..... I got criticized for suggesting the Rangers tank after all of their good players except Beltre went down.

Yes, because hockey to baseball is an apples to apples comparison. :rollseyes:

 

[ESPN Refugee]

4-0 whipping at the hands of the "mighty" Leafs. I was at the game, 3rd row from the glass, and they just aren't even competitive. They aren't a playoff team as currently constructed.

Again, tank.

Yep. I've accepted that they should tank. I'm just hoping they'll be bad enough. No question Nill will be selling off Horcoff, Cole and quite likely shop Daley and Goose. There is absolutely no way you can go into the deadline thinking you still have a legitimate shot.

I still say they won't tank because they aren't wired that way and they're still somehow good enough not to as bad as Edmonton and Carolina.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Yes, because hockey to baseball is an apples to apples comparison. :rollseyes:

Right. Two totally different scenarios at play. Stars are simply not built to compete this season. Plus, there's a once-in-a-generation talent awaiting the #1 pick team.

Baseball is a much different crap shoot with the draft, and the Rangers really weren't/aren't in the same boat as the Stars.

I'm normally firmly against tanking. But if ever there were a season in hockey to so it, this is it.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Yep. I've accepted that they should tank. I'm just hoping they'll be bad enough. No question Nill will be selling off Horcoff, Cole and quite likely shop Daley and Goose. There is absolutely no way you can go into the deadline thinking you still have a legitimate shot.

I still say they won't tank because they aren't wired that way and they're still somehow good enough not to as bad as Edmonton and Carolina.

Unfortunately you are correct in that they have too much pride to truly "tank" and too much talent to finish dead last. They are good enough to beat the piss poor Oilers and Hurricanes. They'll finish probably around 6th worst or so and still get a very solid player, but likely not an elite one. And by "elite" I mean Crosby/Ovechkin level.

I still hope they continue to lose though because the NHL is going to a lottery system for the first time this season, so even finishing 4th worst would be better than 7th worst because they would have better odds of picking 1st or 2nd overall. Top 2 this year get the next Crosby and Ovechkin, and even 3rd and 4th get players who would be picked #1 overall in any other draft year.

I still can't actively root against them though. So tonight at the game my heart was pulling for them to win but my head kept saying that the better outcome was happening.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Unfortunately you are correct in that they have too much pride to truly "tank" and too much talent to finish dead last. They are good enough to beat the piss poor Oilers and Hurricanes. They'll finish probably around 6th worst or so and still get a very solid player, but likely not an elite one. And by "elite" I mean Crosby/Ovechkin level.

I still hope they continue to lose though because the NHL is going to a lottery system for the first time this season, so even finishing 4th worst would be better than 7th worst because they would have better odds of picking 1st or 2nd overall. Top 2 this year get the next Crosby and Ovechkin, and even 3rd and 4th get players who would be picked #1 overall in any other draft year.

I still can't actively root against them though. So tonight at the game my heart was pulling for them to win but my head kept saying that the better outcome was happening.

Also in thinking about last year I'm not sure if Dallas even makes the playoffs if it weren't for injuries to Mike Smith and Pekka Rinne.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Could this team truly and finally be righting this ship? Can they? Will they?

 

[WilltheThrill]

Could this team truly and finally be righting this ship? Can they? Will they?

Unfortunately, I still say no. Some fans will see games like last night's 6-0 thrashing of Phoenix and say that the Stars are ready to contend. But they casually ignore that Phoenix is a really bad team this year. I know they've won 7 of their last 8, but most of those wins were against bottom feeders. Some signs of improvement are there, but they're still giving up way too many goals and turning the puck over too often in their own zone. The offense can't be expected to keep scoring 5 and 6 goals per game so that they win 5-3 and 6-4.

I am so frustrated with this team right now because I see this as a totally lost season. If they hadn't put themselves in such a huge hole earlier in the season, I'd say they would still have a shot at the playoffs. But they've just got so many games remaining against Chicago, St. Louis, Anaheim, and San Jose where their poor defense will be exposed that I don't see how they can be expected to win at the pace needed to catch the teams in front of them.

They're going to finish somewhere in the 9-11 range in the West, miss the playoffs, and wind up with like the 10th overall draft pick... in other words, a wasted season altogether. I really, really hope I'm wrong though.

For them to sustain this "turnaround", either Daley or Goligoski (or both) would have to start playing like he did in the 2014 Playoffs, Klingberg and Jokipakka would have to continue to improve, and Nill would have to acquire another top-4 defenseman via trade. Unless those improvements happen, I just don't see enough consistency from their blue line for them to keep winning this much.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Unfortunately, I still say no. Some fans will see games like last night's 6-0 thrashing of Phoenix and say that the Stars are ready to contend. But they casually ignore that Phoenix is a really bad team this year. I know they've won 7 of their last 8, but most of those wins were against bottom feeders. Some signs of improvement are there, but they're still giving up way too many goals and turning the puck over too often in their own zone. The offense can't be expected to keep scoring 5 and 6 goals per game so that they win 5-3 and 6-4.

I am so frustrated with this team right now because I see this as a totally lost season. If they hadn't put themselves in such a huge hole earlier in the season, I'd say they would still have a shot at the playoffs. But they've just got so many games remaining against Chicago, St. Louis, Anaheim, and San Jose where their poor defense will be exposed that I don't see how they can be expected to win at the pace needed to catch the teams in front of them.

They're going to finish somewhere in the 9-11 range in the West, miss the playoffs, and wind up with like the 10th overall draft pick... in other words, a wasted season altogether. I really, really hope I'm wrong though.

For them to sustain this "turnaround", either Daley or Goligoski (or both) would have to start playing like he did in the 2014 Playoffs, Klingberg and Jokipakka would have to continue to improve, and Nill would have to acquire another top-4 defenseman via trade. Unless those improvements happen, I just don't see enough consistency from their blue line for them to keep winning this much.

I'm sorta with you in that the holes on this team seems way to much to overcome this year especially given their piss poor start. But perhaps confidence is what this team needed which they lacked and the defense had nowhere else to go but go up. We know Daley and Goose are better than what they were and we're already seeing Klingberg and Jokipakka grow up in front of our eyes as well as Oleksiak albeit in very small spurts. I think we're seeing Winnipeg come down to earth and and given that its just the first of January they're well within that WC range. But ya I love this team so much that I want them to win and succeed but also know that I'd either want them to be legitimate whether its contender or bottom feeder in order to ensure a top end high profile draft pick.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I'm sorta with you in that the holes on this team seems way to much to overcome this year especially given their piss poor start. But perhaps confidence is what this team needed which they lacked and the defense had nowhere else to go but go up. We know Daley and Goose are better than what they were and we're already seeing Klingberg and Jokipakka grow up in front of our eyes as well as Oleksiak albeit in very small spurts. I think we're seeing Winnipeg come down to earth and and given that its just the first of January they're well within that WC range. But ya I love this team so much that I want them to win and succeed but also know that I'd either want them to be legitimate whether its contender or bottom feeder in order to ensure a top end high profile draft pick.

Yep, agreed. That is why this season has been so frustrating for me. They could have finished in the bottom 3 (too much offensive talent for that) or in the top 8 (probably too late for that) and it would have been progress for the franchise. I would have been happy with either of those results. But this win some/lose some more routine littered with inconsistent play from just about everyone on the roster not named Seguin or Spezza has them on their way to a forgetful 10th place finish, only decent draft pick, and added fan disinterest. In such a pivotal year for the franchise where losing means acquiring a young stud and winning means cementing the team's place back in the area's hearts and minds, they're failing miserably by teetering in no man's land... a mediocre team that isn't bad enough or good enough. Meanwhile the really terrible teams and really good ones will be passing us by.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Stars just gave away a point to Chicago.

They're a lot like the Cowboys in that they play well for such long stretches of time but then just cannot escape bouts of sheer carelessness and stupidity. In fact, I think "careless" is the word which best sums up this team. Far too often they are just way too careless and casual, especially in their own end. I've never seen a team commit so many careless turnovers, even when they're not even being pressed sometimes. It's like they just lose all focus on what they're doing and have these monumental brain farts that other top teams just don't have very often. So frustrating. Normally I'd be happy with 1 point on the road at Chicago, but Dallas never trailed until the OT game winner and they actually deserved to win this one.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Stars just gave away a point to Chicago.

They're a lot like the Cowboys in that they play well for such long stretches of time but then just cannot escape bouts of sheer carelessness and stupidity. In fact, I think "careless" is the word which best sums up this team. Far too often they are just way too careless and casual, especially in their own end. I've never seen a team commit so many careless turnovers, even when they're not even being pressed sometimes. It's like they just lose all focus on what they're doing and have these monumental brain farts that other top teams just don't have very often. So frustrating. Normally I'd be happy with 1 point on the road at Chicago, but Dallas never trailed until the OT game winner and they actually deserved to win this one.

Agreed. Should have gotten two points but Chicago has had Dallas' number for a few years now that whatever Dallas does good Chicago just answers back. I must say tho that despite all the flaws with this team and we know how annoying they are MAYBE they're changing my perspective about really going on a run to where they secure a playoff spot. They seem to playing much better and more fluid at least on the offensive side and doing it enough to where it will win you enough games as long as Kari is on his game which as of late he has been.

 

[Bmurph]

Stars on the PP have been dogshit tonight, especially that last one. Now they gotta kill another one