Ice-D

If you ask Evan about hockey, he’ll wax on about the glory days of the Atlanta Flames and Boom Boom Geoffrion. So he has asked me for a little InsideCorner help in this area.

I saw my first NHL game in 1970. Much of my recent time at The Dallas Morning News was spent overseeing coverage of hockey as well as baseball. That included the Stars’ maiden season in Dallas and the Cup year. I covered the 2006 Turin Games and became the unofficial American press liaison to Team Finland since I was on a first-name basis with Jere, Jussi, Niko and the underrated Niklas Hagman.

I’ll be dropping in on the Stars from time to time the rest of this season, beginning with Sunday’s visit by the Montreal Canadiens. Please tell me what’s in store for these bizarro Stars who lose five straight at home then return from California with five of six points, letting the most “gettable” one get away. If you can, our new President would like to put your skills to better domestic use.

Former Stars favorite Guy Carbonneau and his Canadiens are stuck in a scrum to land a playoff spot in the East and are in better shape than the Stars are in the West. But in the storied Canadiens’ highly anticipated 100th season, they’ve fallen off badly since the All-Star break and are under attack from across Quebec and beyond. They come to town following a 2-0 loss to lowly Atlanta (The Thrashers, Evan. The Flames left town sometime back.) and have been outscored 7-1 on the current trip. All this after finishing first in the conference last season only to exit in the second round to six-seed Philly. Take our recent T.O. tumult, and you have an idea what life as a Canadien is like. At least Guy might be able to enjoy a quiet Saturday night dinner with Brenden, Anne-Marie and the grandkids.

My suggestion for Stars fans is enjoy the sprint to the finish. And if there’s life after April 10, don’t expect too much. The Stanley Cup playoffs are the most unpredictable in North American sports, but the early-round spoilers rarely map out parade routes.

If you are a longtime D-votee but not familiar with hockey, don’t let that stop you from joining the conversation.

See you soon.