dallas.......
UPDATE: ZUBOV OUT TONIGHT
New attitude gives Stars lift
Dallas playing better, and on a 6-game unbeaten streak
12/05/2001
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
Tom Hicks already owns one losing team and the last thing he needed was a matching set.
Stars-Senators preview
So when the Stars were struggling to stay over .500, Hicks admits he was concerned.
"Absolutely," he said. "Weren't you? We weren't playing like the Stars."
So before the team's road trip, he buttonholed coach Ken Hitchcock. What he heard was that the Stars were developing an attitude, a good thing.
It had been missing when the St. Louis Blues swept the Stars in the second round last season and had been absent for the first quarter of the season, Hitchcock explained.
Nothing on the Stars three-game visit to Canada changed the analysis. The Stars carry a six-game unbeaten streak and a four-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with the Ottawa Senators, both season highs.
"We needed to be happy with who we were," Hitchcock said. "We needed to stop searching. We needed to just say, 'Hey, this is who we are. We're proud of it. This is how we're going to play. We're going to get in your face and stay in your face and play with a little bit of an edge and attitude.' "
And that was what Hitchcock told his owner.
"He's seen us play the right way," Hitchcock said. "He knows the difference between the way we're supposed to play and the way things are done here, and they weren't being done properly. That's my responsibility."
The change in attitude was happening even before the Stars made two major trades, which only accelerated the turnaround.
The trades that exiled Stars-for-a-minute Donald Audette and Jyrki Lumme were more than addition by subtraction.
Benoit Brunet has two goals, four assists and is plus-5. In reality, the Stars expected him and his two-way game to thrive here.
But Martin Rucinsky, who also came from Montreal, has two goals including a game-winner, an assist, and is plus-1. While skilled, his adjustment has been much quicker than even he envisioned.
"I heard a lot of things all over the place that some other guys couldn't play here," Rucinsky said. "I wasn't worried at all. This is a new team. You have to prepare, and you have to adjust whatever the coaches are asking for. You have to do it if you want to be successful."
Rucinsky isn't the only one following orders.
The Stars also say that this is merely the best they've played all year, not the best they can play. Hitchcock wants to see the Stars take more advantage of opposing team's mistakes and attack the net more aggressively.
"We know when we're playing good and playing bad," captain Derian Hatcher said. "I definitely feel comfortable with the way we're playing. We know we can get better, too."
Briefly ...
An MRI revealed that Brenden Morrow has a sprained right knee. He'll be sidelined three to four weeks, coach Ken Hitchcock said. ... Defenseman Sergei Zubov is nursing a bruised shoulder and is questionable for Wednesday's game with Ottawa. ... Ed Belfour will start in goal. ... Hitchcock said recent call-up Cameron Mann might have been with the Stars earlier except for a broken foot that sidelined him for a month. SENATORS AT STARS
7:30 p.m., American Airlines Center, Fox Sports Net/WBAP-AM (820)
SERIES: Stars lead, 10-6-0-0
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Trend: Ottawa (13-9-3-0) played poor enough in October that Jacques Martin's job was supposed to be in jeopardy. The Senators put together a club-record 11-game unbeaten streak in November. And they're no better than third in the Northeast Division after a 4-2 loss in Colorado that left them with one win in five games.
Who's hot: Often-injured RW Daniel Alfredsson, on the trading block earlier this season, leads the Senators in goals (13), assists (15), points (28) and is tied for the lead in plus-minus (plus-15).
Who's not: C Radek Bonk has suffered trying to replace the traded Alexei Yashin on the first line. He has six goals and 20 points, but is rumored to be part of a package Ottawa is offering for Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier.
Injuries: None.
SCOUTING THE STARS
Trend: The Stars (11-7-6-3) are four games over .500 for the first time all season and have lost just once in their past 10 games.
Who's hot: The line of C Kirk Muller, RW Jamie Langenbrunner and LW Benoit Brunet has been a solid two-way line. Muller has a six-game points streak, Langenbrunner has three goals in two games and Brunet has points in all five games since being acquired from Montreal.
Who's not: The Stars after coming home. They've lost both games (Detroit and the New York Islanders) they've played at American Airlines Center after multi-game road trips this season.
Injuries: LW Brenden Morrow (sprained knee) is out. D Sergei Zubov (shoulder) is questionable.
Hitchcock's post game comments from vancouver suggested zubov would have played the third period if it was a playoff game and would probably play wednesday...
[This message has been edited by wigs (edited 12-05-2001).]
UPDATE: ZUBOV OUT TONIGHT
New attitude gives Stars lift
Dallas playing better, and on a 6-game unbeaten streak
12/05/2001
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
Tom Hicks already owns one losing team and the last thing he needed was a matching set.
Stars-Senators preview
So when the Stars were struggling to stay over .500, Hicks admits he was concerned.
"Absolutely," he said. "Weren't you? We weren't playing like the Stars."
So before the team's road trip, he buttonholed coach Ken Hitchcock. What he heard was that the Stars were developing an attitude, a good thing.
It had been missing when the St. Louis Blues swept the Stars in the second round last season and had been absent for the first quarter of the season, Hitchcock explained.
Nothing on the Stars three-game visit to Canada changed the analysis. The Stars carry a six-game unbeaten streak and a four-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with the Ottawa Senators, both season highs.
"We needed to be happy with who we were," Hitchcock said. "We needed to stop searching. We needed to just say, 'Hey, this is who we are. We're proud of it. This is how we're going to play. We're going to get in your face and stay in your face and play with a little bit of an edge and attitude.' "
And that was what Hitchcock told his owner.
"He's seen us play the right way," Hitchcock said. "He knows the difference between the way we're supposed to play and the way things are done here, and they weren't being done properly. That's my responsibility."
The change in attitude was happening even before the Stars made two major trades, which only accelerated the turnaround.
The trades that exiled Stars-for-a-minute Donald Audette and Jyrki Lumme were more than addition by subtraction.
Benoit Brunet has two goals, four assists and is plus-5. In reality, the Stars expected him and his two-way game to thrive here.
But Martin Rucinsky, who also came from Montreal, has two goals including a game-winner, an assist, and is plus-1. While skilled, his adjustment has been much quicker than even he envisioned.
"I heard a lot of things all over the place that some other guys couldn't play here," Rucinsky said. "I wasn't worried at all. This is a new team. You have to prepare, and you have to adjust whatever the coaches are asking for. You have to do it if you want to be successful."
Rucinsky isn't the only one following orders.
The Stars also say that this is merely the best they've played all year, not the best they can play. Hitchcock wants to see the Stars take more advantage of opposing team's mistakes and attack the net more aggressively.
"We know when we're playing good and playing bad," captain Derian Hatcher said. "I definitely feel comfortable with the way we're playing. We know we can get better, too."
Briefly ...
An MRI revealed that Brenden Morrow has a sprained right knee. He'll be sidelined three to four weeks, coach Ken Hitchcock said. ... Defenseman Sergei Zubov is nursing a bruised shoulder and is questionable for Wednesday's game with Ottawa. ... Ed Belfour will start in goal. ... Hitchcock said recent call-up Cameron Mann might have been with the Stars earlier except for a broken foot that sidelined him for a month. SENATORS AT STARS
7:30 p.m., American Airlines Center, Fox Sports Net/WBAP-AM (820)
SERIES: Stars lead, 10-6-0-0
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Trend: Ottawa (13-9-3-0) played poor enough in October that Jacques Martin's job was supposed to be in jeopardy. The Senators put together a club-record 11-game unbeaten streak in November. And they're no better than third in the Northeast Division after a 4-2 loss in Colorado that left them with one win in five games.
Who's hot: Often-injured RW Daniel Alfredsson, on the trading block earlier this season, leads the Senators in goals (13), assists (15), points (28) and is tied for the lead in plus-minus (plus-15).
Who's not: C Radek Bonk has suffered trying to replace the traded Alexei Yashin on the first line. He has six goals and 20 points, but is rumored to be part of a package Ottawa is offering for Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier.
Injuries: None.
SCOUTING THE STARS
Trend: The Stars (11-7-6-3) are four games over .500 for the first time all season and have lost just once in their past 10 games.
Who's hot: The line of C Kirk Muller, RW Jamie Langenbrunner and LW Benoit Brunet has been a solid two-way line. Muller has a six-game points streak, Langenbrunner has three goals in two games and Brunet has points in all five games since being acquired from Montreal.
Who's not: The Stars after coming home. They've lost both games (Detroit and the New York Islanders) they've played at American Airlines Center after multi-game road trips this season.
Injuries: LW Brenden Morrow (sprained knee) is out. D Sergei Zubov (shoulder) is questionable.
Hitchcock's post game comments from vancouver suggested zubov would have played the third period if it was a playoff game and would probably play wednesday...
[This message has been edited by wigs (edited 12-05-2001).]
