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James Neal’s Winning Goal Only His Final Contribution to Dallas Stars’ Overtime Victory

DALLAS - The Stars cleverly announced during Wednesday night’s game that the Ott-toberfest ticket promotion has been extended into November by two games by the “league offices” since Steve Ott was slapped with a two-game suspension for his hit on St. Louis’ Carlo Colaiaicovo last Saturday night. And for much of the night, the Ott-less lineup looked limp and allowed a one-win Toronto team to rally twice and then grab the lead midway through the third period.

Only then did the Stars seem to get their dander up. Mike Ribeiro’s redirection in the slot tied the score with 2:45 left in the third period. Then young James Neal, devoted Leafs fans as a lad growing up in the Toronto suburb of Whitby, displayed his offshoot of the Gordie Howe hat trick to help get the game into overtime and win it almost three minutes in by a 4-3 score.

It’s the first time this season the Stars have won a game played beyond regulation. With Florida (2-7-1) coming in Friday and a Saturday night visit to Nashville (4-6-1), the Stars (16 points in 12 games) have a golden opportunity to push San Jose (17 in 13) for the lead in the Pacific Division after the first month.

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Dallas Stars’ Upcoming Diet (Leafs, Panthers, Predators) Could Be Filling in Points Column

The Toronto Maple Leafs team that will visit AAC on Wednesday night won’t drag in the NHL’s only winless record after all, winning at Anaheim on Monday night 6-3. You commit 17 penalties like the Ducks, and Niklas Hagman is going to make you pay - three power-play goals (giving him a team-high six this season). The Leafs have risen to 1-7-1.

The Stars’ schedule this week appears appetizing with the Leafs followed by Florida at AAC on Friday and a trip to Nashville on Saturday. Toronto and Florida are last and next to last in goals against. Nashville and Florida are last and next to last in scoring, with Toronto 25th. Dallas will face Toronto and Florida minus Steve Ott, suspended by the NHL for two games for his pop on St. Louis’ Carlo Colaiacovo on Saturday night.

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Monday Dallas Stars Update

FRISCO – Mike Modano was back skating with the team on Monday morning. Matt Niskanen is working toward returning for Wednesday’s next game. Nicklas Grossman’s face is healing nicely, thank you.

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Sunny Start for New Stars Coach Marc Crawford

Marc Crawford

They have a lot going on in Los Angeles, what with the Dodgers going out and the Angels following closely behind. Doesn’t appear the local papers or web sites are taking much notice of Stars coach Marc Crawford making his first return to Staples Center following his inglorious run as coach of the L.A. Kings.

It has been about a month since Crawford called together his first Stars training camp. It was no secret that Joe Nieuwendyk sought a tougher edge, a louder voice when hiring Crawford to replace Dave Tippett.

What did the players hear about their new coach? “That he was pretty tough and pretty demanding and likes to lose his mind once in a while,” Mike Ribeiro said with a laugh. And so far? “I think he’s trying to get not too emotional either way, after a big win or after a big loss,” Stephane Robidas said. “Sometimes he’ll snap on the bench, but that’s part of who he is. He’s a guy who’s trying to keep everybody honest. We knew he was going to be tough that way. I think so far he’s been really good for us.”

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Minus No. 91, Dallas Stars’ 9-1-1 Call Gets Spotty Response in 4-1 Loss to Los Angeles Kings

DALLAS – In Monday night’s 4-1 loss to Los Angeles, the Stars missed Brad Richards. All of them. The shooter. A point man on their top power play. Dependable in the face-off circle. Without him … them … an already depleted Stars team was reduced to a one-line offense outdone by the Kings’ one-line offense. And that was enough to lose to a flu-ridden opponent dragging in a three-game losing streak and playing its sixth consecutive road game over 10 days.

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As Richards Joins Stars’ Infirmary, Brunnstrom Among Those to Get More Chances to Shine

DALLAS – Center Brad Richards won’t play on Monday night against Los Angeles, finally missing a game after playing with a sore groin for weeks. Wing Steve Ott finally skated with his teammates this morning and might be ready to return Wednesday night when a three-game road trip begins in Anaheim. Center Mike Modano and wing Jere Lehtinen are a ways off and probably won’t make the trip.

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Hockey Night: Stars-Bruins In-Game Blog

DALLAS - The Stars will again be without Jere Lehtinen, this time with an injury to a chest muscle. That’s three regular forwards on the shelf – Lehtinen, Mike Modano and Steve Ott. So the Stars have brought up 23-year-old Aaron Gagnon, who has one goal in five games with the new Texas Stars. Ray Sawada might have been tabbed ahead of Gagnon, but he has been out since the pre-season after injuring a thumb in a fight. On defense, Mark Fistric gets the call in place of Jeff Woywitka.

The Bruins, a popular pre-season pick to win the East, are off to a 2-3 start (all played at home). That’s enough to have coach Claude Julien juggling personnel as Boston begins its first road trip, to Dallas and Phoenix.

Your pick for star of the game? I’ll take Loui Eriksson.

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Wayback Machine Recalls Dallas Stars’ Amazing Rally to Beat Boston Bruins During ’95 State Fair

Pardon the Boston Bruins if they don’t feel terribly nostalgic about the first time that they came to Dallas with the State Fair of Texas in full tilt. It was 1995, just a few hours after the Texas-OU game (a 24-24 tie), and the Bruins were cruising along with a 5-3 lead going into the final minute of the third period.

That’s when events took a drastic change at Reunion Arena and the Stars made NHL history.

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4.0 Version of Stars Runs Flawlessly vs. Predators

DALLAS – In the wake of Wednesday night’s 6-0 drubbing of Nashville, the Marc Crawford Stars are scoring more than any previous model of Dallas NHL hockey at 4.0 goals a game. Had Tom Hicks’ other team been producing like this, Rudy Jaramillo wouldn’t be copying off his resume.

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Tonight’s Stars Telecast NOT on Dish Network

Dish Network customers in Dallas and the surrounding area won’t receive the Stars-Nashville game being telecast by Fox Sports Southwest.

Fox SW increased this season’s schedule to 61 games and, according to the Stars, increased the charge paid by local cable and satellite systems. Dish was the only carrier that declined to pay the increase and is currently scheduled to miss out on 20 games, including tonight and Friday night’s home game against Boston.

Bond of Brothers: Stars’ Jamie Benn Lives NHL Dream; Jordie Benn Now in Allen Seeking Same

Jamie Benn

By coincidence, the hockey playing Benn brothers from Victoria, B.C., both came into this season aiming to play for the Dallas Stars’ new American Hockey League affiliate down in Cedar Park near Austin. Jamie, a 20-year-old wing, instead earned a roster spot in Dallas, continuing his meteoric rise since being drafted in the fifth round only two years ago. Jordie, a 22-year-old defenseman, didn’t make the AHL Texas Stars’ roster and has been assigned to the new Central Hockey League club in Allen, the Americans.

Half a continent from home but about 15 minutes from each other, one Benn is living his NHL dream ahead of schedule while the other is seeking his own.

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On T.O., Texas and TCU, Stars’ Start, Etc.

While the Cowboys’ defense was seemingly setting new lows for offside penalties, Terrell Owens’ new offensive unit had 11 false starts.

While Miles Austin was setting the Cowboys’ record for receiving yards in a game with 250, Owens was piecing together a season high in catches with four. He doesn’t have 250 receiving yards this season. His team gave up six points and lost by three. Wonder if he texted Austin with congratulations.

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What Would Iginla Have Meant to Dallas Stars?

The Stars traded young Jarome Iginla five months after making him the No. 11 pick in the 1995 draft, which helped bring the 1999 Stanley Cup to 777 Sports Street. Iginla – who will face the Stars again on Friday night in Calgary – has proved to be as good as his draft pedigree if not better, developing into one of the NHL’s superstars at age 32. (The Hockey News dropped him to No. 11 in their annual player rankings following an “off” season of 35 goals and 89 points.)

Getting Joe Nieuwendyk was obviously one of the keys in the Stars’ drive to the 1999 Stanley Cup. (Dallas, unlike Calgary, was willing to pay him $11 million over five years.) For all of Iginla’s production, his Flames have made it to only one Finals (losing in seven to Tampa Bay in 2004). And he hasn’t embarrassed his old organization in head-to-head play – only nine goals in 45 career games, his lowest output against any opponent. (Quickie quiz: what active player has the most points compiled against the Stars?)

The son a Nigerian father and white American mother, Iginla has become the first black player to captain an NHL team, the first to lead the league in goals. He has finished second in the MVP selection. He doesn’t need an enforcer, plays hard, too hard for Oilers coach Pat Quinn on Thursday night.

No one in Dallas has ever wanted a do-over on the trade. Last March, noted DMN hockey scribe Mike Heika speculated on what the Stars’ on-ice future might have looke like if the trade wasn’t made. But what might Iginla have meant to the Stars off the ice had he played his NHL career in Dallas?

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On Valley Ranch Rules, Crabtree, Tippett, Etc.

Media access to the Cowboys and all NFL teams has changed greatly from the days when Pete Rozelle ran the league and Tex Schramm ruled Valley Ranch. We now have situations like this week, when it took three days for reporters to learn Jason Garrett’s thinking near the Denver goal line, and when there was a 24-hour period from late Monday to late Tuesday when the local populace wondered if Tony Romo had lost track of downs.

In the case of Garrett, he’s made available once a week. That’s actually a 100 percent improvement over the Parcells rules, which treated all assistants as if hidden in a monastery. Romo’s designated day to address the media is Wednesday. When local media assumed for the better part of a day that Romo went into the final snap thinking it was third down, the Cowboys were compelled to issue a statement to the contrary.

NFL media policies are meant to minimize negative spin. Sometimes, they simply allow it to fester.

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Major League Baseball’s Playoffs Are Finally Here; Haven’t We Seen This Movie Already?

Baseball’s playoffs have begun. And don’t the teams look familiar? When compared to the other three sports over the past 10 years, MLB has had less movement between the haves and have nots, according to calculation performed by yours truly. While I can’t approach Sports Sturm in detailed dissection of numbers, I offer the following in trying to examine parity in the sports leagues – and how it’s decreasing in baseball.

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