- Huge spot start for Mike Smith in place of injured Marty Turco. Gets a shutout and helps Dallas build a 6 point lead in the division and win their 5th in a row. Some absolutely amazing saves last night. Although I still worry about goal scoring when it really matters, this team is getting healthy and looking strong, to quite strong.
Smith saves day in Dallas Stars' 1-0 win
01:53 AM CST on Friday, February 8, 2008
By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News
rdurrett@dallasnews.com
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Marty Turco's stiff neck meant the Stars needed backup goalie Mike Smith to stiffen up against the Wild on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.
And the lanky 25-year-old delivered, playing one of the best games of his career, leading the Stars to an entertaining 1-0 win.
Smith hadn't played since Jan. 22 and was desperate to show he could get the job done against a tough opponent.
If not for a hard elbow to the head Tuesday against Vancouver, Turco probably would have played Thursday against Minnesota, the Northwest Division's top team.
But the Stars' starting goalie, 4-0 since the All-Star break, stayed in Dallas to rest. Smith filled in nicely, using his 6-3 frame to stop 25 shots for his second shutout of the season.
Smith's biggest save helped the Stars get the go-ahead goal a little more than three minutes into the final period. Smith stuck out his long right leg to block an uncontested shot at the side of the net by Marian Gaborik, a deft scorer who normally doesn't miss such opportunities.
"I don't do the splits very often," Smith said. "I'm not sure my groin will like that too much in the morning."
The puck bounded off Smith's pad, and a few quick passes later, Niklas Hagman made a nice move on Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, slowing down just enough to get him out of position for a backhanded shot. It was Hagman's 20th goal, marking the first time in his career he's reached that plateau.
The goal silenced most of the 18,568 spectators, with Stars co-general manager Brett Hull the one exception. He jumped out of his seat, yelled and pumped his fist even before the red light came on. Then he watched Smith make the lead stand up the final three-quarters of the period.
"The main thing is I wanted to come in here and give the team a chance," Smith said. "I wanted to come in and stabilize the team like Marty's done the last four games. He's played well and stolen some wins for the team. That's what we've got to do right now."
Smith's great game was critical as the Stars missed numerous chances to take the lead in the first two periods. Backstrom was nearly as good as Smith, helping Minnesota build momentum while killing off penalties.
Dallas had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:07 of the first period but couldn't do much with it. When Mattias Norstrom was hit in the face and bleeding from a high stick in the second period, the Stars got a four-minute power play. Dallas, 0-for-6 on the power play, kept the puck in the Wild zone, but Minnesota's penalty killers blocked shots and got out of the way so Backstrom could make a few saves.
"You're concerned that you're going to have a letdown, and that penalties are going to even out," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "So you change your aggressiveness so that you don't have to start killing penalties. We weren't successful on the power play, but you have to find other ways to win."
And the Stars keep doing that right now. Dallas is 5-0 since the All-Star break and has won five consecutive road games. The Stars continue to pile on points in an effort to stay on top of the Pacific Division and in front of San Jose, which has five games in hand.
- We all may be wrong about this, but it's hard to find one person outside of the Phoenix locker room on board with this trade. It just made Dallas and San Antonio's job a lot easier. No Dirk/Ginobli/Josh Howard stopper for Phoenix anymore. And Phoenix still has no answer for Tim Duncan or any of the guards on both teams.
Suns may not rise with Shaq
10:11 PM CST on Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Mavericks have no need to run and hide. Stand back and applaud, maybe.
The Phoenix Suns just got Shaquille O'Neal. That doesn't mean the race to win the West is over. It's more open now to more teams than it was 48 hours ago.
The Suns didn't get better. Just bigger.
Losing Shawn Marion to Miami is a very large deal to the Phoenix Suns' way of doing business. There have been indications that his relationship with point guard Steve Nash wasn't the best. He was known to complain about having a secondary role.
But it still worked.
On the floor, Marion served the Suns' attack-attack-attack-some-more style very well. You can't assuredly say the same about the 35-year-old O'Neal.
He can rebound at the defensive end, hit Nash with the outlet and get the running game in motion. For that, he has real value.
But the Shaq that's coming back to the West isn't the player who won three titles with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. He's not even the player who, filling a supporting role to Dwyane Wade, helped the Miami Heat upset the Mavericks for an NBA title 20 months ago.
In his heyday, Shaq was an awesome and powerful machine, averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds a night and scaring the daylights out of any opponent who dared to come charging down the lane.
In his first year with the Heat, conditioning himself better than he had at the end of his Lakers run, O'Neal was still a 20-points, nine-rebounds-a-night guy.
This season, when he hasn't been injured, O'Neal has supplied the Heat with 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds a night.
Those aren't Shaq numbers.
Those are Andrew Bogut numbers. And that's just not enough to stamp the Suns as favorites in the West, which is deeper in quality teams than ever.
What about missing Marion?
His athleticism really allowed the Suns to be what they had become. They and the Warriors have traded back and forth the scoring lead in the league, both averaging 109 to 110 points per game.
Marion's numbers have been off this year, and who knows how much that might have to do with his failed attempts to land a new contract in Phoenix, which was the impetus for this trade, anyway.
But even at 15.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and two steals a game, Marion has allowed the Suns to maintain the break all night. That won't be the case any longer.
If they don't score quickly, the Suns will back up and wait for O'Neal to take his spot down on the low post. They will look more Eastern Conference than they have since before Nash's arrival.
That might be a good thing for the Mavericks. That's not a good thing for the entertainment value of watching the Suns play.
Really, I think for Mavericks fans, the bigger concern than the big man who used to win titles for the Lakers is the big man who might help the Lakers now.
The arrival of Pau Gasol in Los Angeles is scarier than Shaq landing in Phoenix. When injured Andrew Bynum returns, a front court of Lamar Odom, Gasol and Bynum, along with the backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, gives the Lakers a real chance to reach the Finals for the first time since O'Neal left for Miami.
But the West is too crazy to call right now. Houston is 29-20 and Portland 28-20, and they're not even in the playoffs at the moment. Golden State is the No. 8 seed, but the Warriors, who had to overcome an 0-6 start with Stephen Jackson suspended, trailed No. 1 Phoenix by 4 ½ games entering play Thursday.
It will be interesting to see how Suns coach Mike D'Antoni adapts his strategy to fit O'Neal's presence in the lineup. With Shaq, the team will be more entertaining than ever off the court.
On the court, not so much. And not any better than what they were.
- Bo pulls a nice class out of the of dog shit he was handed. Very good save.
22. Nebraska
One ESPN 150 prospect
The Cornhuskers had a strong class in the spring of 2007 but imploded shortly after Bill Callahan's future looked bleak. New head coach Bo Pelini did a good job down the stretch of luring prospects back and signing linebacker Will Compton (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County) and defensive end Josh Williams (Denton, Texas). ESPN 150 offensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler (Lincoln, Neb./Southwest) stayed strong with his in-state commitment as did projected outside linebacker Sean Fisher (Omaha, Neb./Millard). Old Cornhuskers fans have to be pleased with a pledge from 210-pound power back Collins Okafor (Omaha, Neb./Westside) and Scouts Inc.'s No.1-rated fullback/H-back prospect Kyler Reed (Overland Park, Kan./Saint Thomas Aquinas).
NU Football: Pelini, Huskers ignore hype
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini sat down to unveil his first recruiting class Wednesday and discussed it exactly in that way.
As a class.
In his 28-minute session at Memorial Stadium, Pelini not once mentioned any of his 27 signees by name.
There were absolutely no references to "four stars." No gushing over anybody. Not one mention of some player helping right away or being a steal, sleeper or project.
"There's no sense in singling kids out," Pelini said matter-of-factly. "Everybody knows about them. You can read about them."
Pelini said now they're part of the Husker program. It's not about individual players. Once they signed letters of intent, it no longer was about Internet hype and announcements and putting on hats.
"They know that," he said. "They signed on for that."
For perspective, Pelini mentioned 26 people on the NU athletic department staff — by name — and thanked them for their hand in recruiting. Compliance, academic personnel, student assistants, video staff, etc. That didn't include later references to assistant coaches and Athletic Director Tom Osborne.
But not once did he say the names Baker Steinkuhler, Will Compton or Kody Spano. Steinkuhler was a "five star," ya know.
"I don't really want to get into anybody specifically," Pelini said. "I'm proud of every recruit that we have and what they become in the future."
Read into it whatever you want. Around the country, no doubt, at least a few head coaches were rattling off stats and pumping up players to the delight of recruiting geeks.
NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, however, liked Pelini's style.
"Honestly, that's the way it should be," Watson said. "I think what happens today — with the onslaught of all the different things going on with recruiting — there's a lot of pressure and hype that maybe wrongfully gets placed on a young man who hasn't had life experiences enough to know that all that really is not important right now. What's important is that you understand you have to work hard and you have to earn your place. That's part of being forthright and honest and shooting them straight down the middle."
Pelini was not downplaying the overall class, by any means. In fact, the Huskers finished strong after the string of decommitments that hit the staff during the transition from Bill Callahan to Pelini.
The Huskers pulled nine players from Texas, and Pelini and his staff have made it clear NU wants to establish stronger roots there. Steinkuhler led a list of six in-state recruits. The Huskers' release also included 18 walk-ons, with Pelini saying there could be a dozen more once proper paperwork clears.
Nebraska apparently remains alive for at least one other prospect, making it possible that the Huskers sign 28. NCAA rules stipulate that a class of newcomers number no more than 25 when players report in August, meaning NU could lose recruits to academic ineligibility or delay enrollment of a player or players.
In a major change from Callahan, Pelini also made no mention of where NU's class was ranked. For the record, rivals.com had Nebraska at No. 30 and scout.com at No. 21.
"It's hard to say," Pelini said. "Talk to me two, three years down the road and I'll tell you how good a class it was.
"We believe there's a lot of talent and potential in this class, and we're looking forward to working with each of them."
Only Watson and Ted Gilmore were on the Husker staff last season, so Pelini said NU didn't have a strong feel for what it needed in this class. The Huskers' answer was to go looking for "good football players — guys that play with passion, play with an attitude."
Gilmore said the staff was cognizant of numbers as it went out.
"I knew what I needed because I lost four receivers," Gilmore said. "But obviously everybody else has got to figure that out this spring, has got to figure out where the talent level is or if it fits their scheme. When you're in that position, you take athletes."
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