Yes yes I know it is only preseason......

But how can I not get excited about Ribeiro. A goal and 5 assists last night gives him 10 points in 4 games and has looked like he has excellent chemistry with Ryder right off the bat. These two will be vital to what the Stars can achieve and I am liking what I see from this pair already.

I am not fussed about results in preseason so I am not even going to talk about the scores but looking at individual performances there is a lot to be cautiously optimistic about in Stars land.

The good:
Ribeiro: The man is simply on fire.
Ryder: Shown a key nose for the net and much to my surprise is very good on the forecheck.
Fiddler: Been dominant in the circle and has added a touch of scoring. PK was tested big time against Florida earlier in the week and Fiddler has shown what he was brought in for, to kill those off.
Goligoski: +5 last night! Has carried on his offensive flair and enjoyed jumping into the play. I am still waiting for the moment this bites us in the arse but so far he has been very responsible.
Lehtonen: Quite possibly the Stars best player so far. Even in games where the Stars were completely mis-matched like against the Avs earlier in the week, Lehtonen has looked like he is in midseason form.
Sceviour: Impressed a lot so far. Plays with a bit of an edge and has potted a few goals too. The reason players like Godard were put on waivers as a precaution in case the coaches simply cannot say no to the guy.
Bachman: Very impressive in the small amount of time we have seen him play. Could put Raycroft out of a job next season.
Ott: Has made some very pretty plays. We need the Ott that we saw when he broke his hand and couldn't fight a couple of years ago and he is showing signs of being able to do that. I hope he keeps it up.
Fistric: Was left out quite frequently in favour of Woywitka last year by Crawford, much to the annoyance of a lot of Stars fans who feel his physical play was needed. With the new 'hard to play against' thing Nieuwendyk is after it figures Fistric will be in more games and so far has played with that edge we need. More of the same please Mark!

The bad:
Raycroft: Has looked shakey, much like in preseason last year. He looked very good for the first period in the first game but then fell apart in the 2nd. We need Raycroft to carry a significant load in order to keep Kari fresh but I am dubious about if he can manage that or not. He showed flashes of brilliant play last year so I hope he can find that again. With Bachman waiting in the wings I can't see Raycroft lasting past this season.
Glennie: Injured just before Traverse City last year missing out all of pre-season and what's that? Injured again before Traverse City this year and missed all of pre-season? Is this guy just incredibly lucky or can he just not prepare himself properly? Stars fans have been dying to see what Glennie can bring but so far have had to wait. Guess we will have to see how he goes in Austin.


The let's wait and see:
Morrow: Has been very good in the games he has played. We need him to carry on what he does with Ribeiro and we will have the makings of an incredible first line. Morrow has been rested as a precaution due to a minor injury but from what I have read he says he is good to go, just the coaches would rather save him for the regular season.
Benn: The guy who has to replace Brad Richards. Similar to Morrow has been rested as a precaution but should be good to go in the regular season. Looked a little over excited in his first pre-season game taking 6 PIM in the first 4 mins of the first game but aside from that played well. I see no reason why he can't turn on beast mode again once the season is under way.
Robidas: Another one rested as a precaution. I love Robidas, he is one of my favourite players, but I am glad he is going to hopefully have a little less ice time this season. The last 2-3 seasons he has been way way over played and although he has been incredible for us I am glad to see he finally has a bit of support.
Souray: Has made a few decent plays but also made a few bad ones. Jury still out on the big guy.


How have your teams done so far?

Chara scored a short-handed goal the other night! You'll never see that in the regular season but it was fun to watch. The goalie must have been crapping himself seeing Big Z barreling towards him.

On Blackberry again CJ?

Arse! Hadn't spotted that one. Thanks Homer. Yes it's the iPhone. It now recognizes most of the Bruins but Chara must have slipped under the radar.

Phones and computer servers are all down this morning so I'm yapping in here instead.

iPhone, root of all evil

But it's so shiny!

And back on topic..... I've been watching the battle for the B's seventh defensman's spot. Kampfer (no, iPhone, he's not called Lamprey) and Bartowski are both good players and until last night it looked as if Kampfer was probably going to shade it. Unfortunately he went down with a knee injury during the game against the Sens so it's all a bit up in the air now as to who gets the job.

How has Seguin looked?

He's looking good. Plenty of confidence and explosive speed. I like it.

Nice PP goal from Lucic last night too. And Marchand looks as if he's planning on starting the new season the way he finished the last one.

OMG OMG OMG I CAN'T WAIT!!

Damn, phones and servers are working again.

Daniel Sedin better watch out then, eh CJ?

The Good

1. Perron - did I mention he's back
2. Evgeny Grachev - stole from NYR for a 3rd...been a goal machine.
3. Perron - Just incase I forgot
4. Langenbrunner - most pre-seasons goals from his assists
5. Perron - Dont be forgetting now
6. Grachev - The machine
7. Netminders - All performing very well, especially Bishop
8. Perron - Just incase I forget
9. Possible 1st line of Oshie - Stewart - Backes...awesome
10. Perron - HE'S BACK!!!!



BAD

1. Arnott - Cataract operation - how old is he????


OOOH!!!!!

1. Oshie on the Blue line for powerplay Unit!!!!

Did someone say Perron was back?

Hi guys, Im back for some NHL chat since the end of last season!

Stars looking very good I must say and I think there is definitely a big chance of us having a great year. Goligoski is key for me this year as he is the missing piece we have been looking for since Zubov left and we have him for the whole season this year. People saying Benn will have to step up to replace Richards but I think Ribeiro has a better chance of scoring the 90 or so points rather than Jamie. Kari is going to be great this season, he is now an established number 1 and has a much better looking defense in front of him.

Roll on Friday night, what a cracker that will be!!

welcome back! General concensus is the Stars will be terrible this year.....but then of course if you lose Richards the rest of the team is SURE to crumble right? I agree on Ribs, he looks like a man on a mission at the moment. Can't wait for the season to get under way!

Yep, we are jus going to have to rely on Eriksson, Benn and Ribs for the points that Richards obviously wont be getting! We will miss Brad on the powerplay more than anything.

I think our defense is much improved from last year and that is the reason why we didnt make the playoffs - too many shots on Kari but we did very well considering how poor our D was!

Roll on friday!!

I actually think Fiddler could prove to be our best signing. He has looked very handy and very versatile. He looked good playing with Loui so wouldn't be surprised if he found his way to some time on that line with Benn.

I am under no illusions that this will still be a tough season and I reckon we will be fighting tooth and nail for that final playoff spot but I see no reason to rule us out of the playoffs right now.

Yeh, I hope we beat the Hawks into the playoffs this year...

I think Ryder will also be a massive signing for us and Id stick him with Morrow and Ribs which will be a great line.

I know he plays for the dirty Blackhawks but congratulations to Pittsburgher Brandon Saad, 43rd pick overall this year and he is going to start the season on a line with Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. He was rated 6th in the North American skaters at one point but he dropped sharply. Well done to the kid for knuckling down, putting in the hard graft and making the team!

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=594507

I read that and saw a few clips of him. He is looking good so far. Early shout for Calder?

Nope. Calder is Zibanejad's