Deja Vu: Dallas Stars Lose In Shootout, 4-3

Tell me if you’ve heard this story before- The Stars battled, didn’t play that great of an overall game and then lost in a shootout.

This time it was against the Vancouver Canucks, as the Stars ended their three-game Western Canada road trip 1-0-2. Not the greatest way to get points but it’s better than walking away with nothing, which is exactly what could have happened tonight.

Since it’s nearly 1 AM on a Monday morning, a truncated game recap up after the jump. We’ll have much, much more on this game tomorrow and Tuesday.

The Good: Jamie Benn finally got his first NHL goal and yes indeed it was highlight reel-worthy. Benn was sensational all night long, and had several opportunities to put one in the net before scoring the game-tying goal with 93 seconds remaining.

The Bad: Marty Turco was still shaky in net and just doesn’t seem too sure of himself when the puck comes near the crease. Part of that may be due to some horrendous coverage around the net by the Stars defenseman, but it’s also something we didn’t see with Auld. He did have one incredible save on Henrik Sedin in the first period, but overall another poor showing for our #1 goaltender. While I know the shootout isn’t a true measure of a team’s performance, Turco was absolutely amateurish on both shots. Too deep in his crease, not challenging the shooter. Fundamental and basics.

The Ugly: The Stars surrendered two more goals while on the penalty kill tonight. Something is drastically wrong here.

… for more visit defendingbigd/stars lose in shootout

Patriots Sign LB Junior Seau

The New England Patriots have signed linebacker Junior Seau.

The 40-year-old Seau is a 12-time Pro Bowler. He is entering his 20th NFL season—13 with San Diego, three with Miami and four with New England. His signing was expected after the Patriots gave him a physical and a workout last week.

Seau came out of retirement last year to play the final four games with the Patriots after playing 27 games with them in 2006 and 2007.

To make room on the roster, the Patriots released defensive lineman Terdell Sands(notes), who signed Sept. 28 after being waived by Oakland before the season.

credit: yahoo/patriots sign seau

Penguins Win Stanley Cup

Penguins’ youth marches to Stanley Cup

He’d given up five Game 5 goals on this same sheet of ice. He was yanked in the second period as catcalls and confidence dropped around him, the Detroit crowd going wild over his failures.

The old questions were returning to his young shoulders – you can’t win a Stanley Cup with Marc-Andre Fleury(notes), the fans kept laughing. Pittsburgh can’t win with all these kids, not yet at least.

Now it was six days later, now everything was on the line, the Stanley Cup shined up and waiting. It was the final, furious seconds of Game 7 and Fleury was back in this red-clad house of horrors, these relentless Red Wings swarming him one last time.

… for more visit Yahoo! Sports/Dan Wetzel blog

Detroit Wins Game 1 of NHL Finals

Pens, Fleury get some bad bounces

DETROIT – Marc-Andre Fleury’s(notes) inelegance as a goalkeeper is part of what makes him successful. He is a tangle of lithe limbs that fidget and he has the neck of a bobblehead doll, always moving as though it’s spring-activated, and the two often work in wonderful unison.

They can, too, lead to abject misery. The enduring image of last season’s Stanley Cup Finals was Fleury allowing a puck to trickle between his legs, then falling onto it with such force that it squirted across the goal line. The game- – and, ultimately, Cup- – winning goal for the Detroit Red Wings was credited to Henrik Zetterberg(notes), though Fleury’s posterior deserved an assist and perhaps even a star.

… for more visit Yahoo! Sports