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Blake Comeau

Stars hold off Kings, extend winning streak to five

By Scott CharlesJan 9, 2020, 12:54 AM EST

Anton Khudobin saved his best for the final seconds to help preserve a 2-1 victory for the Dallas Stars.

Jamie Benn and Blake Comeau scored 37 seconds apart early in the second period as Dallas erased a one-goal deficit and extended its winning streak to five games.

Anze Kopitar netted his 16th of the season, but the Kings fell for the third straight game. Jonathan Quick had 30 saves.

Lindell stays hot

The Stars defenseman has been collecting assists left and right during a four-game point streak. Lindell picked up another two helpers Wednesday, extending his total to seven during the stretch and 16 on the season.

John Klingberg has not played since the 2020 Winter Classic and Lindell has stepped up to provide offense from the backend in his absence.

In this day and age, every NHL team needs mobile defensemen that can push the pace. Lindell has provided that and more during the five-game winning streak.

Johns close to returning

Stephen Johns has reported to the AHL for a three-game conditioning stint. The 27-year-old D-man has been sidelined since 2018 with post-traumatic headaches.

“You’re talking about a young man who is 6-foot-4, he can skate, he can shoot a puck, he’s a physical presence,” Stars GM Jim Nill told the team’s website. “He’s what every team is looking for. He’s a good person. He brings a lot to the table. When we signed him, he was coming off a very good year for us and we thought he was going to be a big part of our top four. … Now, we have an opportunity to bring him back.”

If Johns does return to the NHL, the Stars will get an extra boost on the backend before evaluating their strategy for the Trade Deadline.

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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.

Stars’ Roman Polak suffered ‘small fracture’ of sternum

By James O'BrienOct 4, 2019, 4:33 PM EDT
16 Comments

The Dallas Stars announced that defenseman Roman Polak suffered a “small fracture” of his sternum during Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. Polak, 33, will be evaluated again in about one week, according to the Stars’ release.

Considering that Polak was hospitalized after being taken off the ice on a stretcher, you could argue that the news could have been far worse.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a serious situation, and it certainly sounds like Polak is likely dealing with serious pain.

Via a breakdown from Healthline, this injury is often associated with high-impact sports, but also “falling from a large height” and “vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions.” A normal timeline for a recovery could mean a few months, with one window being for 10-and-a-half weeks. That process can also take longer if surgery is required.

So, while it seems like a fairly optimistic update, it still seems like a pretty significant injury for Polak, especially since he’s the rugged type of player who would almost certainly be involved in high-impact collisions whenever he returns to action (assuming he does).

Thursday was a costly night for the Stars overall, as Blake Comeau and Jason Dickinson could also miss a week or more with injuries suffered during that game against the Bruins.

MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Stars’ Roman Polak taken to hospital after scary fall

By James O'BrienOct 3, 2019, 10:20 PM EDT
6 Comments

(UPDATE: Stars say Polak suffered a ‘small fracture’ of his sternum. He’ll be evaluated in a week.)

Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak was taken off the ice on a stretcher, and is currently being evaluated at a hospital, after a scary fall during Thursday’s season-opener against the Boston Bruins.

You can see that awkward fall in the video above this post’s headline.

It’s been a night full of injuries for the Stars so far, as Polak joins Blake Comeau (lower-body injury) and Jason Dickinson (upper-body) will also miss the remainder of that game, and possibly more. The Stars already began the 2019-20 season without Corey Perry, who suffered an odd foot issue.

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After the Bruins’ 2-1 win, Stars coach Jim Montgomery provided good news for Polak, but bad news for Comeau and Dickinson:

MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Culture Change: How an attitude adjustment has slowly begun to turn the Colorado Avalanche around

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By Scott BilleckFeb 4, 2018, 1:33 PM EST

WINNIPEG — Gabriel Landeskog knew. 

A change in the cultural fabric in Colorado is something the Avalanche had talked about for a couple seasons, and something that hadn’t happened.

The warning signs for the 25-year-old captain of the Avs were abundant, including a treasure trove of terrible that attached itself to a historically brutal season in 2016-17.

Like the natural phenomena they’re named after, those problems finally broke free early last season for the Avs. Unable to be controlled, they tore down the Colorado Avalanche, only coming to a halt at the end of the season at rock bottom. 

“You take it pretty personal,” Landeskog said on Saturday in Winnipeg, hours before his team would lose 3-0 to the Winnipeg Jets, a fourth loss in their past five games since winning 10 straight.

It was a far cry from the days of Forsberg, Sakic and Roy, when the team was dominating the Western Conference, not wallowing as the team others trampled over at will.

That winning culture was gone, replaced with mediocrity in recent years and then utter failure after last season.

Nothing looked quite like last year.  

Colorado’s 48 points was a franchise worst. They lost 56 games. They were last or close to last in numerous statistical categories.

“You’re not supposed to take it home with you, but I would,” Landeskog said. “This is our job, this is what we do. It’s something that is hard to put behind you, going home and trying not to think about the fact that you just lost six in a row.”

The Avs needed a core leadership group to emerge to start those changes. Landeskog said himself, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Comeau came together to figure out how to begin to mend their ailing team. 

“It was really embarrassing for us,” Barrie said of the 2016-17 campaign. 

Barrie, along with the now-departed Matt Duchene, led the team with a minus-34. It’s a flawed statistic, sure, but one indicative one what was happening on the ice. Only four players that played some sort of role for the Avalanche were zero or better in that category. 

“It was a bad season and we knew we didn’t want to be back there. It was a long summer for us,” Barrie said.

With a core trying to steer this ship and a coaching staff in the same boat, Barrie said training camp prior to this season was the hardest and toughest he’s taken part in.

“Physical, testing, everything like that,” he said.

Landeskog said the leadership group assembled wasn’t a dictatorship, noting that every team has its core and it was a potential solution to the massive problem. 

“It’s easier said than done,” Landeskog said of changing the team’s attitude. “There were a lot of Xs and Os. We had a young team that maybe didn’t have to be accountable where they came from before. Maybe there was a different attitude. We had to establish one attitude here, and it started with the veteran guys.” 

Both Landeskog and Barrie agreed that there wasn’t a particular switch that was flipped this season. Hard work from training camp didn’t immediately translate as the Avs flirted with .500 in October.

But Landeskog pointed to the trip they took to Sweden as a possible turning point.

The Avs lost both games to the Ottawa Senators — close affairs — and were dealing with the departure of Matt Duchene, who had been traded days before they embarked to Landeskog’s homeland.

“You talk about team building and stuff like that. Some people might not believe in it, but I’m a strong believer in it,” Landeskog said. “That trip brought us a lot closer.”

The on-ice product started to follow suit. The work they had put in since the beginning of the season began to pay off and the Avs rattled off 10 straight wins to climb back into the playoff picture.

“We’re a different team this year,” Barrie said. “I think having some fresh, new faces in here, some guys who were really excited to be in the NHL and be a part of a team like the Avalanche, gave us some energy.”

MacKinnon has put himself in the Hart Trophy conversation with what many believe is his breakout season. A 2-to-4 week suspected shoulder injury has derailed that a little bit, but MacKinnon’s stellar play leading by example has helped the Avs to where they are, just outside the playoff line — something unimaginable at this point last season.

Mikko Rantanen has taken a step forward in his sophomore year and rookie Alexander Kerfoot has been a godsend down the middle, especially now that he’s tasked to help stem the bleeding in MacKinnon’s absence.

“There’s been a lot of turnover,” Barrie said. “You look at guys like (MacKinnon) taking the next step. And we’ve had guys just elevate their play and these young guys come in (who are) so excited to play. They’ve been a big part of our team… it’s really exciting for the future.”

It’s a start, Landeskog said.

“We’re growing together.”

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

For Pens, Tuesday’s moves were all about depth and finances up front

By Mike HalfordJul 28, 2015, 4:23 PM EDT
22 Comments

Following a busy day in which he flipped Brandon Sutter to Vancouver for Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening, then signed ex-Capital Eric Fehr, Pens GM Jim Rutherford explained how those moves met two of his biggest objectives.

“The two deals went hand-in-hand so we can add more depth,” Rutherford said. “We have enough good players now that guys are going to have to compete for those spots [in training camp] and compete for them all year.”

He then addressed the money issue.

“When you look at the structure of our salaries and our cap, it’s important to get those bottom-six cap hits in better shape,” Rutherford explained. “That’s what we were able to do with these two deals.”

It’s not surprising that depth and finances were two of Pittsburgh’s biggest offseason priorities. Money allotment has been an issue — Sutter, a pending UFA potentially in line for a raise, was making $3.3 million while playing what amounted to a third-line center role.

Combined, Bonino and Fehr are a $3.9M cap hit.

(Lest we forget that, in the Phil Kessel trade earlier this month, Rutherford dealt away another relatively expensive third-liner in Nick Spaling, who makes $2.2M annually.)

Earlier, veteran depth guys Steve Downie, Blake Comeau, Daniel Winnik and Craig Adams were allowed to walk in free agency, giving likes of Beau Bennett ($800K), KHLer Sergei Plotnikov ($925K), Swedish prospect Oskar Sundqvist ($700K) and Czech Leaguer Dominik Simon ($692K) a chance to get into the rotation.

So that’s the financial side.

In terms of depth up front, Pittsburgh seems far better suited to deal with injuries — something that, you may remember, was a recurring issue in ’14-15. Kessel gives the club a bonafide scoring winger to play alongside either Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, while Fehr and Bonino, both natural centers, provide nice depth down the middle.

Fehr could even bounce outside if need be.

“Eric is definitely comfortable as a two-positional player,” Rutherford said. “He could possibly jump up into the top six, if that situation presented itself, but he’s coming off of a year where he played center.”

Pascal Dupuis is expected to return after playing just 16 games last year, and the club will get a full season of David Perron, acquired from Edmonton in January. Add it all up, and it’s easy to see why Rutherford is so pleased with Pittsburgh’s new-look forward group — it’s deeper, with a more sensible financial structure.

“If a guy falls off, there’s a guy waiting to jump right in there,” he explained. “I like the fact that we have enough guys that each guy can push each other.

“I like our depth at forward now.”