1.13.2009

Oh. My. Gosh.

Before I get to the good stuff, I have to recap the previous couple of Stars games.

Thursday’s loss to Detroit was awful. Anybody watching the game who was a Stars fan was ashamed. Anyone affiliated with the Stars was ashamed. 6-1 is unacceptable.

The Phoenix game was somewhat better. Despite losing in a shootout when Kyle Turris scored the winning goal, it was a close game throughout regulation and overtime. It looked as though the Stars would be able to bounce back from the loss fairly quickly.

The start of Monday night’s game against Detroit was interesting. There were a few moments when the Stars appeared to gain momentum, but finishing the first period down 3-1 didn’t look promising. The only major bright spot was Nicklas Grossman’s first NHL regular season goal.

As the players returned to the ice for the second period, I was beginning to regret that the Stars would be playing Detroit again soon.

However, my hopes lifted when Stephane Robidas snapped a shot that made it through a screen of Steve Ott and a Detroit defender to slip past Chris Osgood. Then, with four minutes left in the second period, Mark Parrish and Krys Barch made a nice play to tie the game at 3-3.

Early in the third period, Pavel Datsyuk scored on a dazzling one-man effort and, after Detroit’s defense brought in their A game and shut down nearly every Dallas chance, the win was apparently locked in.

However, with 3:00 left in the game, Steve Ott, who had had a goal absolutely robbed from him by Chris Osgood earlier, proved that he can be a force in front of the net by pounding in the puck to tie the game at 4-4.

The overtime period was as tense as any, and when Trevor Daley poked in the puck for the winning goal, the hockey fans of my house exploded with joy. Of course, that meant I was the only one running around shouting “Daley! Daley! Daley!” at the top of my lungs.

My three stars of the game (which may or may not be the actual three stars) would have to be Nicklas Grossman, Trevor Daley, and Chris Osgood.

If anybody saw all the saves Osgood made in that game, they’d vote him at least third star. Think Patrick Roy-esque.

Grossman has consistently been the Stars best defensive defenseman the entire season, and seeing him get his first NHL goal only raises his potential.

Daley is the same story in the form of an offensive defenseman. His presence on offense has sparked a lot of Stars goals, and his ability to be the third/fourth man down low is vital, as evidenced by his rebound goal in OT.

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