Game Preview – 12/2 vs. Washington

Happy December everyone! I am really glad that this Movember thing is over, and that I’ll get to see 23 clean-shaven Stars tonight at the pregame skate.

The Stars are riding a 4 game winning streak, and I’m sure they’d love to make it 5 in a row against the Capitals tonight. This is the first time since 2008 that Ovechkin has come to Dallas. The Caps have been playing very well recently and are leading the Eastern Conference, even though Ovie has only scored 10 goals so far this season. Maybe he’s becoming more of a team player?

With his very own bobblehead

There should be a pretty big crowd at the game tonight, but I expect there to be a lot of Caps fans. The Stars have also been flooding my email inbox telling me that I can still buy tickets for the game tonight so they’re pushing it pretty hard. Maybe one of these days we’ll have a sellout.

Who to watch tonight: Obviously Ovie is going to draw a pretty decent crowd, but Jamie Benn has a goal in each of the last 3 games and has been playing very well. Neuvirth should be in goal tonight for the Caps and he held Jamie scoreless in the Calder Cup Finals earlier this year. Look for Jamie to get a little revenge!

You can follow live updates throughout the game on our Twitter page here!

Amy

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You should have stayed! Game recap 11/18

Wow, what a great game last night! For all the people who left before it was over – you missed out! Maybe you’ll listen to the Fanatics section next time before you leave 🙂

First period, in which the Stars dominate a tired Sharks team: The Stars played well, up until the last minute when Trevor Daley’s mental facilities collapsed and he allowed a weak rush from San Jose to lead to a goal. The Stars ended the period 2-1 with goals by Richie and TRD (a powerplay goal!). Nichol had the goal at the end of the period for the Sharks.

Second period, in which the Sharks get physical and the Stars fall apart: The 2-1 lead turns into a 3-2 deficit as some guy named Pavelski scores and Couture adds another. Jamie Benn wins his third fight of the year against Setoguchi, and Richie (?) starts something with Mitchell and they end up with 10-minute misconducts because the fight started before the puck was dropped. What this means: Richie doesn’t technically have a “fight” to his name, and it ruins his chances for the Lady Byng at the end of the season.

Third period, in which we sit dejected until the last 3 minutes: Marleau scores in the first half of the period to make it 4-2, and many fans leave the game. We warn them that they are going to miss the comeback and shootout victory for the Stars, but they give us dirty looks and rush to get out before traffic is too bad. But with the attendance this season, that’s a pretty poor excuse to leave because there aren’t enough people at the games to make traffic a hassle afterward. The Sharks score a 5th goal, but it’s disallowed because of a high stick and there’s a little life in the Fanatics section. We start cheering again and wonder if maybe the Stars can pull something out of this.

All of a sudden, something wakes the Stars up and TRD gets his second goal of the night with less than 3 minutes left. All 3000 of us who stayed are rejoicing, and… it’s actually pretty loud in there! 29 seconds later Ribs does it again for his FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON! On the next faceoff, it looks like Ribs has scored again, we all have mini heart attacks, but then realize there was no goal.

Overtime, in which we win: The Stars are pumped for overtime and look like the hungrier team. Hey, the Sharks were playing their 3rd game in 4 nights and had the same epic collapse the night before against Colorado, so they had the right to look pretty sad out there. The Stars look good, we’re all cheering, and Ribs gets his second goal of the night about halfway through the overtime. Victory is sweet 🙂

Here is some super high quality video of the end of overtime and the goal celebration for Ribs. Not many of us stayed, but I was surprised at the volume level.

Amy

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It’s Benn a While!

Hope you enjoy the pun in the title 🙂 Pics of the not-so-new Jamie Benn jersey will be coming eventually, probably from the next game I go to.

Begin stream of consciousness from the last month or so…

School has completely taken over my life (and I imagine vet school has taken over Sarah’s), so my limited free time has been spent actually watching hockey or spending time with friends. Proud to report that I have a new hockey convert. I took one of my friends to the Baby Stars vs. Rampage game a few weeks ago, and he had a great time. The $1 beers probably didn’t hurt his impressions. I’ll be taking him and another friend (also a hockey virgin) to the Baby Stars vs. Rampage game this weekend. They are both looking forward to it 🙂

I’ve been kind of disappointed with the Stars so far this season. I know they’re doing relatively well with points, but I just don’t see the effort or talent that I expect to see from the Stars. The effort hasn’t been happening every night with the top guys, the effort and talent are lacking throughout the defense corps (with the exception of our top pair and Skrastins), and Marty is either lacking effort or talent. I would say effort, but now I’m starting to think that his play has taken a permanent downturn. I think Crawford is a better coach than Tippett because I actually see his mouth moving during the game as he talks to players. I’m sure this was surprising to players who have played all or most of their career under Tippett. Tippett seems to be doing pretty well in Phoenix, but I think Phoenix is a team that can really benefit from having a coach who is good with plays, teaching the game, etc. The Stars needed someone to kick them into gear, and Tippett failed miserably at that.

I hated seeing Niklas Hagman in a Toronto jersey at the end of October in Dallas. I actually teared up a couple times they showed him skating around. I’m sure it will be equally as bad to see Smitty and Jeffy at the Nov. 28th game. I’m glad these guys went to the East where we don’t see them as often.

Ken Hitchcock coached his 1000th game last night against Detroit, and the Red Wings dominated 9-1. It’s sad that his 1st and 1000th games were bad losses to Detroit, but good that he’s had so many good wins in the middle. I still miss him in Dallas, and always look forward to seeing the Blue Jackets come to town. It’s good to see Hitch again, and seeing Rick Nash is something every hockey fan should experience.

The Stars play San Jose late tonight (9:30 pm start), and I’m looking forward to watching the game since I’ve been going all week for school. The Stars should try starting their games at 9:30 – maybe more fans would show up before the 2nd period. I know that’s been a long-standing problem in Dallas, but it’s pretty pathetic that the Stars attendance in the first period looks incredibly similar to the arenas of Phoenix and Colorado (averaging <10,000 a night).

We have a lot of Stars games planned in the next 2 months. The Nov. 21st game is on my boyfriend’s birthday, so we will be going to hopefully see the Stars kick some Devil butt. Then the whole gang is going for the Nov. 28th game against Tampa. Look for new signs and the split-up Sign Girls at the pregame skate. Next will be Columbus on Dec. 23rd. Sarah and I have an amazing hockey vacation planned in late December, and we’ll be going to the Dec. 29th, 31st, and Jan 2nd games. Talk about a nice break from school! I’m going to get spoiled by all of this hockey!

Stream of consciousness ends here… (meaning I have to actually do some work)

Amy

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Sign Girl at the Game on Friday

Hi all,

So far I’m really enjoying the first 5 minutes of the Stars/Trashville game. Maybe this one won’t lead to a shootout loss for the Stars.

I just wanted to give a heads up that I’ll be at the game Friday night against the Bruins. Sarah is busy with school and can’t make it down to Dallas in time so it’ll just be 1 of 2 Sign Girls. My mom will be an honorary Sign Girl and help with the signs during the pregame skate. If you see me walking around, feel free to say hi. I’d love to see more of the people who read the blog 🙂

I don't think you'll miss me walking around...

I won’t be wearing the white jersey though because I plan on getting a JAMIE BENN JERSEY as soon as the pregame skate is over! I hope to be the first one to get a Jamie Benn jersey… so if you’ve seen one walking around, don’t let me know about it!

I’m gonna go watch the game, my Brenden has scored again! I can’t describe how nice it is to see his smiling face on the ice this season.

Amy

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