Game 56: Stars at Columbus

The Stars seem to do better when I do not follow them. They are now ranked 6th in the west and have 61 points, putting them in a tie with Anaheim. The Stars have gone 11-5-2 since my last post on January 3rd. Needless to say, they have played some good games since I last posted on them. They are also tied in points with the Bluejackets. Three points seperate 5th place and 10th place. Wow, now that's close. Vancouver is 5th with 62 points, Edmonton is 9th with 60 points, and Minnesota is 10th with 59 points. The top four seem secure right now with 70 points or more.

Dallas Stars Player Stats 08-09

Name	Mike Ribeiro	Brad Richards	Loui Eriksson	Mike Modano
Goals	13	15	26	14
Assists	36	32	15	23
Points	49	47	41	37
+/-	-7	-3	+10	+2

The Stars look to have stronger players than the Blue Jackets. Nash is a big threat, but then so is Ribeiro and Richards. Eriksson makes a strong presense with a +10 and Modano is Modano... a legend in his own right.

Columbus Bluejackets Player Stats 08-09

Name	Rick Nash	Kristian Huselius	RJ Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Goals	23	16	17	8
Assists	28	24	13	19
Points	51	40	30	27
+/-	+7	-4	-6	+13

It's weird to have someone with 27 points be in the top four for a team this late in the season. Still, the guy is a +13, which says something about how well he plays when he is on the ice.

Goalie Comparrison

Name	Games (Starts)	Record	GAA	SV%
Marty Turco	52 (52)	26-19-7	2.83	.895
Steve Mason	36 (36)	21-12-2	2.06	.925

Steve Mason gave up three goals to the Stars in 11 minutes which was on January 31st. He got a no-decision in that game, as the Stars won that game 7-3. Mason has seven shutouts this season and a three game shutout streak to end out 2008. Turco had a five game winning streak at the end of January and one game into February. The Stars are winning with a formula of defense and scoring goals, with a 10 goal game against the NY Rangers. However, it should be noted the Stars are 1-2 in their last three and have scored only 4 goals during that time.Forecast: I like the Stars in this one. Why? Well, the three goals in 11 minutes against Mason. I think that trend will continue. Plus, this game has something riding on it in the standings. The Stars will step up against the Blue Jackets.

Home Ice