head coach: Ken Hitchcock

roster: C-Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bob Bassen. LW-Dave Reid, Greg Adams, Benoit Hogue, Juha Lind, Bob Errey, Patrick Cote. RW-Todd Harvey, Pat Verbeek, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jere Lehtinen, Grant Marshall. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuck, Sergei Zubov, Sergey Gusev, Dan Keczmer, Craig Muni. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek.

injuries: Greg Adams, lw (knee injury, 4-6 weeks). Todd Harvey, rw (knee sprain, day-to-day). Patrick Cote (surgery to correct separated shoulder, indefinite). Bob Bassen, c (left hand injury, unknown).

transactions: Recalled Jamie Wright, lw, from the Michigan K-Wings (IHL). Placed Tony Hrkac, c, on waivers. Recalled/reassigned Jeff Mitchell, rw, to Michigan.

standings:

Western Conference - Central Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Dallas       47  28  11   8    64  144   97  
Detroit      47  27  11   9    63  153  110  
St Louis     47  26  15   6    58  141  115  
Phoenix      46  20  18   8    48  128  123  
Chicago      44  16  19   9    41  102  102   
Toronto      43  14  22   7    35  103  129   

game results:

12/03 Edmonton        W 4-1
12/05 Calgary         W 4-1
12/08 at Toronto      L 3-0
12/10 Tampa Bay       W 3-0
12/12 San Jose        L 1-0
12/15 Buffalo         W 8-4
12/18 at Calgary      W 2-1
12/20 at Edmonton     W 2-1
12/23 at Vancouver    W 3-1
12/27 Vancouver       T 3-3 OT
12/29 at Detroit      T 2-2 OT
12/31 Los Angeles     T 2-2 OT
01/02 NY Islanders    W 2-1
01/03 at Carolina     W 6-1
01/05 at New Jersey   W 4-3
01/07 Ottawa          L 2-0
01/09 Detroit         T 3-3 OT
01/11 at Anaheim      L 2-1 OT

team news:

by Jim Panenka, Dallas Correspondent

Injury roller coaster keeps on truckin'

Anyone got any forwards to loan out? The Stars have seen nine different forwards come and go out of the lineup due to injuries so far this season. They could use the help!

Much has passed since the infamous Marchment hit on Modano - you know, the one that sent the (arguably) best player in the league at that moment out for 4-6 weeks with a torn knee ligament. Well Marchment went at it again shortly thereafter. This time ol' Bryan the Knee-wrecker hooked up with Greg Adams and sent him out with virtually the same injury. Boom! Another forward gone for 4-6 weeks.

One could write volumes about the stupidity that Marchment showed, and how his idiot of a coach stuck by his boy, but Marchment's lack of respect for other players doesn't deserve any more ink wasted on it. Marchment had already taken out Adams, but wasn't satisfied yet. During the same game, Marchment obviously stuck out his leg in an effort to trip Shawn Chambers in the dying moments of the third frame, long after the game had been decided. Marchment was penalized for this attempt, and set up the Stars power play, which went on to score the goal that sealed the victory for Dallas.

Who, Me?

After the hit Marchment claimed innocence, and feebly attempted to redirect the blame with a bunch of no-brain comments such as "why doesn't Hitchcock go sit down and eat a bunch of ho-hos." OOH! THAT'S REAL WITTY BRYAN. You are such an intellectual. Let's make cheap shots at the other team's coach for his past weight problems! Yeah, that's real mature.

If that wasn't a big enough circus, Edmonton coach Ron Low joined in the jabfest and called Hitchcock "the worst goon coach junior hockey ever saw." Yeah, right Ronny. Hitchcock just happens to have a 575- 69 won/loss record for the Sherwood Park chain in Edmonton, a junior-hockey league. Anyone who knows Hitch knows he doesn't specifically use "goons," so even if Hitch was a bad junior coach (when in fact he is one of the best ever to coach the game), he didn't use goons to get him there. Wrong on both counts, Low.

You are sounding as mature as your boy, Bryan. Of course, that's not even true anymore. Low heard his career swooshing down the terlet, as Archie Bunker would say. How did he respond? By having a fire sale and trading away about half the team, including the problem child Marchment. Marchment was dealt to Tampa Bay, poor souls.

Well, if Low's blockbuster trades don't pan out, and soon, its gonna be Ron Low sitting on a couch, eating ho-hos, considering how he went wrong for being the "worst goon coach the NHL has ever seen." That's MY quote, for the record.

Not that I'm bitter, or anything.

If that wasn't a big enough joke of a circus, the league rubbed salt into the wounds by refusing to penalize Marchment after taking out Adams. The league wimped out again. Guess it will be the players who will have to settle this on the ice.

Oh yeah, getting back to the injury thing...Modano returned for a game, then sat out one or two more afterward when he bruised the same knee in a different area.

Within that time, Joe Nieuwendyk went down with guess what? A sprained knee. Luckily for him, it wasn't that bad. Joe has already returned from this injury, but this could be a reoccurring thing for the rest of the season. Sometimes the injuries that aren't corrected by surgery hound a player for years afterward. One has to hope this isn't the case for Joe.

You gotta feel for Greg Adams, though. He spent most of the early season out with back/rib injuries, and had just returned before Marchment got a hold of him. Gus was bitter at first about this one, and you can't blame him. Gus is taking it in stride lately, he joked around that he can be the guy that teaches all the rookies how to rehab from injury. Hopefully this will be the last time Gus goes on IR for the rest of the year (what's left of it, anyway).

Things were looking much better once Modano, Nieuwendyk and Hogue returned to the lineup. But, things just got worse. Todd Harvey (knee sprain!!), Bob Bassen (fractured left hand?), and Jamie Langenbrunner (possible concussion) have all missed shifts due to lesser injuries. Of the latest three, only Langenbrunner looks good to be able to go tonight against San Jose.

While the team was juggling the roster in an attempt to compensate for the injuries, they kept on winning, but just barely. If the team hadn't stuck to the discipline and the system, they would most surely have lost many of these games. But with the latest rash of injuries, the winning streak seems to have gone cold.

The players hung in there for most of the ordeal, but after two shutouts, three straight ties, and a 2-0 shutout by Ottawa (!), the magic carpet ride seems to be over. Dallas lost to Anaheim by a single goal in overtime, after failing to protect a feeble 1-0 lead for most of the game.

That defeat ended the Stars' 10-game non-loss streak, the perfect win record when leading after two periods, and Belfour's eight-game win streak all in one fell swoop.

Yes, fellow LCS brethren, the Stars have an Achilles' Heel. All you have to do is kill two-thirds of their forwards!

Seriously, though. The players were showing fantastic discipline throughout the Holiday season, but lately a lot of that spunk has just run out. The Stars seem to start well enough, but their biggest problem as of late is failing to hold leads, and failing to hold off the late-game rushes by the opposition.

The guys bring out their 'A' game for the opponents that matter, but don't take the other teams seriously enough.

It seems to be due to plain old fatigue. Even healthy NHL teams are having problems dealing with this year's brutal schedule. The Stars' ex-goalie Andy Moog was recently quoted as backing this theory up.

It seems obvious that guys might be getting a little tired after travelling so much, and not having enough time to rest and practice between games. Hopefully the All-Star break will give most of the guys a good chance to rest up, and get ready for the home stretch. They need to do something, because losing 2-0 to Ottawa and 2-1 to Anaheim should never have happened.

Other Notes

* Daryl Sydor has been placed up on the wing (left, mostly) to help compensate for the other missing forwards. He evidently doesn't mind playing as a forward because Sydor scored his first-ever hat trick against Carolina on January 3. Well, sorta. One of the goals came after Sydor had shifted back to defense. Its still a 'trick though. He has continued to shine with great effort as a player, even when taking on this new role. He had trouble skating up and down the wing at first, he kept wanting to stray back into the defensive zone, but Syd eventually got the hang of it. He is the perfect example of just how flexible and hard working this team is! The league has recognized this sleeper of a 'd' man by placing him on the North American All-Star team. Congrats, Syd! You deserve it.

* Sergei Zubov has recorded his 300th career point, just in time to see him lead the league in scoring amongst all defensemen. Zubov has scored six goals, 29 assists for 35 points. He has been justly recognized as one of the best by being named an alternate player on the all-world all star team. Its about time! Waytogo Zubie!

* In all, five Stars have made it to the All-Star game. Mike Modano, Ed Belfour, and (sleeper) Daryl Sydor will go for the North American team. Jere Lehtinen and Sergei Zubov will dress for the All-World team. Is it just a coincidence that nearly 1/4 of the Dallas Stars will be in the All-Star game? I think not.

* The Stars lost Tony Hrkac to waivers. Hrkac played extremely well during his tenure with Dallas, and everyone expected him to return to Big D. But since Hrkac played at least 10 games, he was required to go to waivers.

Guess who picked him up? E D M O N T O N ! ! Now, if that ain't rich! First, Cujo gets hot and knocks the Stars out of the first round last season. Then Marchment wastes Modano, Adams and tries to take out Chambers. Then they steal Hrkac off waivers. And if that wasn't enough of an old thorn-in-the-side (and don't ya think it oughtta be!?), former Oiler Drew Bannister (part of the great Oiler exodus trade by good old Ronny Low) took a run at Langenbrunner during the January 11 match in Anaheim! Langenbrunner was forced to miss the rest of the game as a precaution against concussion syndrome. Just what in the hell does Dallas have to do to get them damn Oilers off their backs, anyway!

* The Stars currently lead the league in face-off win percentage, are giving up amongst the fewest goals-against, and have one of the top power plays in the league.

* Ed Belfour has great individual numbers. He is currently second in the league with a 1.87 GAA, 22 wins, and 7 shutouts. Both these stats and those above give a little indication as to why Dallas is winning so consistently. The only problem is, since losing to Anaheim on January 11, the Stars allowed the Red Wings to climb within one point of Dallas' league-leading 64 points.

* The comeback win against New Jersey was a playoff-caliber contest in every sense of the word. Both teams battled furiously, but the Stars displayed a relentless drive all game, which put them on top. Hopefully this is a preview of the finals. It oughta be wild! Dallas proved they are an elite team with this game.

* The salvaged 3-3 tie against Detroit was less impressive. Even though it was still a great game by all involved, the Stars still suffer from "The Joe Curse." Detroit owns Dallas, and whether or not the Stars are good enough to beat the Wings, they have a mental block that will not allow them to win. Something's gotta give.

That's all the excitement for now.

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