Casey Gannaway

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Don’t quote me on that.

1. Yes, this is exactly how the Stars hockey.

And follow up:

This is actually almost exactly what Stars hockey is like in general, even without all the kids in the line up. The Stars model has been high event hockey for a couple of seasons now. It’s one of the reasons that people that like fun games like watching the Stars, even if they aren’t necessarily Stars fans. It’s one of the reasons that people pull for the Stars to do well, so more teams will emulate our style.

I know it’s stressful as heck as a fan to watch, but all of those near misses, close scoring chances, and goals are really fun for people who are not biting their nails to the quick to watch.

So be grateful, I guess? And also take a few deep breaths. We’ll get through this together.

2. Jim Nill, actual wizard?

I have never in my life envied the job of a general manager in any professional sports league. It seems to be pretty thankless, people steal your glory a lot (just look at Dale Tallon and Stan Bowman in Chicago), and everyone thinks they could do the job better than you.

Sure, Jim Nill has made some weird choices, our goaltending situation being chief among them. But I’m pretty confident in saying he’s done the best he can with the situation he’s been given. And in some cases, the best he can is really pretty great. Even if you look past the actual star players he’s managed to convince to come to the Stars, you’ve got depth guys like Patrick Eaves and Lauri Korpikoski who Nill signs for a song that end up being such solid depth guys. Who’d have thought? Lauri Korpikoski, top line right winger, on a two game goal streak.

Yes, I’ve decided two is a streak.

3. Enough to make you believe in the hockey gods

This was another game the Stars could have easily lost. At 5v5, only four players were above 50% corsi for: the second line of Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, and Patrick Eaves, and Jordie Benn. By contrast, only 5 players on Edmonton’s team were under 50%.

That stat in Owen Newkirk’s tweet, where we lead the game in blocked shots? That’s because we hardly ever had the puck, friends. The other team has to have the puck before you can block it.

The only other stat we lead in (other than, you know, the score) is Newkirk’s unofficial quality scoring chance count, or the pucks shot right in front of the net. (Unofficial because this isn’t something the NHL tracks, but something he counts himself.) The quality scoring chances against are a) because Kari Lehtonen gave up a lot of rebounds tonight b) because our defense doesn’t really keep people out of the high danger areas and c) because it’s Connor McDavid’s team.

4. It’s been a ruff season.

This is how you can tell it’s been a tough season so far: 15 games in, we have finally strung together two wins in a row for the world’s babiest streak. This is how you can tell people have it worse than we do: we’re currently in a play off spot again.

But don’t scare it or it might run away.

5. Puns will be the death of me.

With his two assists tonight, Jamie Benn moves into sixth place in all time assists for the Dallas Stars, tied with Daryl Sydor. He’s got a ways to go to get the number one spot, but second seems pretty attainable. Maybe. We’ll see how this season goes.

6. And finally, this.