Stars’ Path Looks Rocky When They Need to Be Rockies

Brad Richards’ unique breaker-breaker could be a sign from above or somewhere else that this just isn’t the Stars’ year. Then again, big-league sports in the last few years have taught us that a lot can happen in the last three weeks of a season: the ’07 Rockies in the National League, the ’07 anybody-but-the-Patriots in the NFL, the ’08 Phillies. Granted, none of those teams faced the kind of extensive injuries to top-line players like the Stars have suffered.

But as dire as the Stars’ situation seems now, Anaheim was in a similar rut a week ago. And just look at the Ducks now.

The Ducks stood 12th in the West, three points out of eighth, facing a week in which they would host red-hot Nashville and then play a home-and-home against Phoenix. The result: their first three-game winning streak since November and they’re now a point out of the playoffs.

The Stars will play three times at home this week against teams on or beginning extended road trips. On Tuesday, the Canucks come in for the second of six straight away from GM Place. Seemed so rosy for them when the Stars were there last Tuesday. Since then, they fell flat against Phoenix and then Roberto Luongo went and said things on Hockey Night in Canada that didn’t go over well back in B.C.

The Kings will be at AAC on Thursday having won once in their last nine road games. Then the long awaited visit of the Florida Panthers. They’ll come in after playing Wednesday-Thursday in Buffalo and Philadelphia. Before all that, the Panthers will be home tonight against Carolina looking for two points to vault into eighth place past Montreal.

(Was listening Saturday night to the last few minutes of Toronto’s 5-2 win at Montreal. The Maple Leafs’ announcers gleefully reported that the crowd at Bell Centre was chanting, “Carbo! Carbo!”)

In Minnesota’s Sunday win over Edmonton, the Wild lost leading scorer Mikko Koivu to a knee injury in the first period. The Wild will play four road games this week, two back-to-backs: Tuesday-Wednesday at the Rangers and Islanders, Saturday-Sunday at Calgary and Edmonton.

And the Stars hope to get some help from Sweden. Tom Wandell, the 22-year-old center who played a couple of games here in December, returns since his team in the elite league was eliminated from the playoffs.