Great and massive recap, Robert, I am super-impressed as always. I'm out in the Gulf of America working 6 to 6 nights on a drillship at the moment, and was fortunate to be able to watch a lot of the game. Awesome result, I'm proud of our lads! Need to keep it rolling, and I'm confident that they will do just that.
Thanks again for the recap, after a win like this I tend to scour the net for articles about the game. Your articles are always at the top of my list, and are usually the only ones I read after a loss hah. After a win like last night though, gotta read them all!
While I am certainly fans of them, I was thinking recently how I would’ve preferred Nill to let Duchene walk and not sign Faksa, instead spending that money on Granlund and relying on young guys for the Faksa role (not even sure if that math works, I know Granlund was expensive). Very happy they both made me look silly tonight
I think the math probably would have worked. Duchene is on a 4x4.5, Faksa on a 3x2, so that's 6.5mm to spend on Granlund, who signed for 7mm in Anaheim. I would guess that he would have been willing to take that slight discount if we offered him the term he got in Anaheim (3 years)
Man I wish I could use Victory+ but I’m out of area… I had to pay even more to get TNT, but the upside is I’m no longer subject to the ESPN broadcast team. Wonder if it was always the plan to switch to TNT mid-series?
Someone else probably knows better than me, but I think TNT and ESPN are just alternating nights for Round One. So it looks like Game 5 is back to ESPN.
Btw I just saw the Russo tweets about the Duchene/Foligno kerfuffle. (I’m not on Twitter, so I miss a lot of the extra stuff.) That’s one thing I appreciate about Stars reporters, they’re relatively objective and dare I say professional.
Robo might have been the best player for the Stars in that first period but I would have to give the nod to Faksa for the rest of the game. He created so many good chances and his D on the PKs was exceptional. So glad that they brought him back.
I find Rants to be a perplexing player - he has the ability to be a completely dominant player and he shows it in moment, then in other moments he's overly deferential, it seems (your comment on the A+ vs A- chances applied perfectly to him on a couple of those PPs), and then in yet other moments, he seems to lose focus and does something dumb.
I like this - "power play struck with speed" but hate "Dallas passed up a couple of A- looks for potential A+ one". Drove me crazy. Also, Hughes took a dive.
Not sure which Foligno brother it was, but the comment about the Stars not being able to handle the Wild's 5v5 game ticked me off, so I did some digging in Natural Stat Trick. I wish I could include pictures to show my findings:
Over the course of the series at 5v5, a Foligno brother is on the ice for ALL THREE of the worst lines on the Wild by xG share (of lines with at least 5 minutes TOI), with 12.44%, 5.35%, and 0% (!!!) xG%. The Foligno brothers and McCarron, the most deployed trio, are each individually 3 of the worst 4 skaters on Minnesota by xG% at 5v5, Nick being the "best" at 35.25%, McCarron at 25.34%, and through more than 30 minutes of TOI at 5v5, Marcus Foligno carries a whopping 12.01% xG%
Just some dumb hockey barbarians who cost their team when they are on the ice. Here's to hoping Hynes double shifts them in game 4.
What. A. Time. A terribly frustrating game to watch as a fan, between some relatively stupid penalties and the slanted possession time, especially the first OT. More than compensated for by the result, though.
Also, I think this paragraph is the funniest bit of sports writing I've ever read:
"Malice was elsewhere, though. After an early slash on the glove of Jake Oettinger after a whistle, Dallas put up the phalanx in front of their goalie on subsequent stoppages. The ethos was more or less the same one Gandalf uttered on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, though instead of nobly vanquishing an unspeakable foe by a metaphorical re-enacting of the go-down-to-go-up theme of one of Plato’s dialogues, Wyatt Johnston just poked the toe of his stick into Kirill Kaprizov’s wedding vegetables. To each his own, I guess."
I'm way late today, so just a few quick comments. (1) Just how good is Wyatt Johnston. (2) Artty Hyry was an absolute beast in the face-off circle, especially in OT when they really needed him to be. (3) The reasons why the Stars wanted to bring Radek Faksa back suddenly seem so clear.
Great playoff win. Home ice advantage restored. Can they go for the stranglehold in Game 4? In past recent playoff runs this is the road game that they usually lose and lose badly.
Great and massive recap, Robert, I am super-impressed as always. I'm out in the Gulf of America working 6 to 6 nights on a drillship at the moment, and was fortunate to be able to watch a lot of the game. Awesome result, I'm proud of our lads! Need to keep it rolling, and I'm confident that they will do just that.
Thanks again for the recap, after a win like this I tend to scour the net for articles about the game. Your articles are always at the top of my list, and are usually the only ones I read after a loss hah. After a win like last night though, gotta read them all!
I am glad to provide whatever I can as you sit out in the Gulf! Real Brandon Worley stuff, that.
While I am certainly fans of them, I was thinking recently how I would’ve preferred Nill to let Duchene walk and not sign Faksa, instead spending that money on Granlund and relying on young guys for the Faksa role (not even sure if that math works, I know Granlund was expensive). Very happy they both made me look silly tonight
If Faksa had buried that one in OT, statue talk would have been on the table 😉
LOL, I forgot about that play. He was great, though.
I think the math probably would have worked. Duchene is on a 4x4.5, Faksa on a 3x2, so that's 6.5mm to spend on Granlund, who signed for 7mm in Anaheim. I would guess that he would have been willing to take that slight discount if we offered him the term he got in Anaheim (3 years)
I have elected to be excited after game 2.
Small note: even though it was Myers who buried Ek it was Esa who was called for the penalty.
Amazing stuff thanks for a thorough recap and all your work!!!
Let’s go Stars!
(Esp Hyry and Ritzy)
Thanks! Fixed.
I mean it SHOULD have been Myers tho lol
❤️
I mean, right?!
Razor on the tying goal in the 3rd: "Rantanen showed the patience of a Tibetan sand artist."
★★★★★
Legend 😂
Victory+ > TNT > espn
And Tiffin >>> Russo (I have so many thoughts, but I'll defer...)
Man I wish I could use Victory+ but I’m out of area… I had to pay even more to get TNT, but the upside is I’m no longer subject to the ESPN broadcast team. Wonder if it was always the plan to switch to TNT mid-series?
Someone else probably knows better than me, but I think TNT and ESPN are just alternating nights for Round One. So it looks like Game 5 is back to ESPN.
Btw I just saw the Russo tweets about the Duchene/Foligno kerfuffle. (I’m not on Twitter, so I miss a lot of the extra stuff.) That’s one thing I appreciate about Stars reporters, they’re relatively objective and dare I say professional.
I'm not on Twitter either, but I'll occassionally lurk on Bluesky.
And I do see Russo's work on the Athletic.
All that to say: I'm grateful for the the overall tenor of coverage we get for the Stars!
Robo might have been the best player for the Stars in that first period but I would have to give the nod to Faksa for the rest of the game. He created so many good chances and his D on the PKs was exceptional. So glad that they brought him back.
I find Rants to be a perplexing player - he has the ability to be a completely dominant player and he shows it in moment, then in other moments he's overly deferential, it seems (your comment on the A+ vs A- chances applied perfectly to him on a couple of those PPs), and then in yet other moments, he seems to lose focus and does something dumb.
Excellent choice of player quotes, all very hockey-esque.
I like this - "power play struck with speed" but hate "Dallas passed up a couple of A- looks for potential A+ one". Drove me crazy. Also, Hughes took a dive.
Great article but I thought I was reading a Michael Russo piece by the way the few paragraphs are written
Not sure which Foligno brother it was, but the comment about the Stars not being able to handle the Wild's 5v5 game ticked me off, so I did some digging in Natural Stat Trick. I wish I could include pictures to show my findings:
Over the course of the series at 5v5, a Foligno brother is on the ice for ALL THREE of the worst lines on the Wild by xG share (of lines with at least 5 minutes TOI), with 12.44%, 5.35%, and 0% (!!!) xG%. The Foligno brothers and McCarron, the most deployed trio, are each individually 3 of the worst 4 skaters on Minnesota by xG% at 5v5, Nick being the "best" at 35.25%, McCarron at 25.34%, and through more than 30 minutes of TOI at 5v5, Marcus Foligno carries a whopping 12.01% xG%
Just some dumb hockey barbarians who cost their team when they are on the ice. Here's to hoping Hynes double shifts them in game 4.
Patrick, you may or may not have stolen a thing I'm writing about for today. But I'll allow it. THIS TIME.
What. A. Time. A terribly frustrating game to watch as a fan, between some relatively stupid penalties and the slanted possession time, especially the first OT. More than compensated for by the result, though.
Also, I think this paragraph is the funniest bit of sports writing I've ever read:
"Malice was elsewhere, though. After an early slash on the glove of Jake Oettinger after a whistle, Dallas put up the phalanx in front of their goalie on subsequent stoppages. The ethos was more or less the same one Gandalf uttered on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, though instead of nobly vanquishing an unspeakable foe by a metaphorical re-enacting of the go-down-to-go-up theme of one of Plato’s dialogues, Wyatt Johnston just poked the toe of his stick into Kirill Kaprizov’s wedding vegetables. To each his own, I guess."
Thank you for tolerating me.
Just win baby
I'm way late today, so just a few quick comments. (1) Just how good is Wyatt Johnston. (2) Artty Hyry was an absolute beast in the face-off circle, especially in OT when they really needed him to be. (3) The reasons why the Stars wanted to bring Radek Faksa back suddenly seem so clear.
Great playoff win. Home ice advantage restored. Can they go for the stranglehold in Game 4? In past recent playoff runs this is the road game that they usually lose and lose badly.