While preparing for two more games this week, the Dallas Stars shared their practice time with the Stars community.
Wednesday morning’s practice at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch attracted well over a hundred fans to watch their beloved Stars in action, snap a few pictures and even get some autographs.
“It’s nice to come out here with all the fans,” defenseman Jordie Benn told DallasStar.com. “Obviously a few of the kids aren’t in school anymore so they get to come out and watch us play and obviously me being a kid and watching it back home when a few NHLers came back it was awesome.”
“Dallas is a huge area so we can’t really hit everywhere when we’re out [practicing] in Frisco,” forward Curtis McKenzie said. “It’s hard for other people to get up there to see us. It’s exciting to see all of them and grow the game around the Dallas area.”
The Stars have had the luxury of staying home to play this holiday season, which allows them to spend some time with family and not worry about when the next plane departs.
McKenzie is playing in his fourth season with the Stars organization and knows how big of a treat it is to see his family in town.
“My mom, my dad and my sister are all here so just hanging out with them and enjoying the few days off,” the former AHL Rookie of the Year added about his Christmas plans. “It’s kind of hard to get back to Canada for a couple days so it’s great that they can come down here.”
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Before focusing on friends and family this December, the Stars know there is still business to take care of. Heading into the New Year, Dallas has yet to win back-to-back home games this season, and taking on the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night is no walk in the park.
“Like I said, the story’s going to change by our top players being in on the score sheet night after night,” Head Coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think that’s been kind of the main theme that we’ve had. Even (Tuesday) night, our top guys had two or three great opportunities but didn’t put it away. So if you want to change the story, it’s going to have to be on a consistent basis that those players get on the board for us.”
One of those top guys, Patrick Sharp, practiced this week with no restrictions, but he may have to wait a little longer to re-enter the line-up.
“We’re trying to get him in the right place. We feel we’ve got him there and I think this time we want to make sure that everything is right even to the oversure category where he might get frustrated saying ‘I think I’m ready’ and I think we’re going to wait a little while longer,” Ruff said of the status of the All-Star forward.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles is in the midst of their longest road trip of the season (nine games) and is coming off a 4-0 shutout win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Peter Budaj stopped all 28 shots that came his way and has only allowed three goals in his last four starts.
“The Kings played a heck of a game [against the Blue Jackets]. They almost doubled up the shots on Columbus. They take a lot of pride in puck battles and a statement game for us is trying to win the majority of puck battles because if we don’t they’re going to have the puck more than us,” Ruff added.
Friday night will be critical for a Stars defense that has yet to allow more than two goals at home in regulation during December.
With four games left in the 2016 portion of the schedule, the stakes have been raised. The Kings are currently a playoff team, but the Stars are well within striking distance to close the gap being just two games back entering Friday night’s contest.
“Where we are in the standings, every game is pretty big right now,” McKenzie said. “We’ve had a few good games in a row and we’re starting to string some good hockey together so I think it’s just a matter of time before we break out here.”
