Oh, Those Unfortunate Ba-Star-ds

Watched much Dallas hockey lately? Well, if so, you've seen a disturbingly familiar trend reemerge.

After the Stars suprising 6-0 start and 9-2 October, the Stars have cooled off needing a win against the Capitals on Thursday to finish the month over .500. The refrain goes like this. Poor puck handling. Trouble scoring, especially on the power play. Small defensemen getting outmuscled for the puck. Blow third period lead and lose.

That is how Wednesday's loss to the lowly Blackhawks went. The stars were outhustled and outfought all game. Marty Turco stood on his head most of the night to keep them in the lead but eventually cracked. The game is tied. Mike Modano, fighting hard to win the game, forgets he has teammates on the ice and turns the puck over trying to skate the puck to the goal. Breakaway. Turco five-hole. Blawkhawks win.

It's a refrain we got use to in the last regular season. We would have heard it more often last year if not for the advent of the shootout helping the Stars mask their defencicies. It was one that hit a crescendo in the postseason. So get use to it. The second verse is the same as the first.