NO JAKE, NO SHAKE, NO BAKE!

Jake Oettinger is such a stud between the pipes. Naturally, one would expect the Dallas Stars' goals-against average to be significantly higher when he's not breakdancing between the pipes! Isn't it ironic that arguably one of the best breakdancers of ALL TIME has the nickname "ROCK STEADY". Well, breakdancers have been known to LITERALLY stand on their head while performing. With that being said, if you're a regular voyeur of the Stars, you've seen "Jake "Otter" Oettinger stand on his head on several occasions as the Stars netminder. Imagine that, a dancing Otter. Uuuuughhh!!! It’s going to be difficult to "SHAKE” that image from my head. Okay. Let me refocus and hone back in. With Matt Murray in goal for only the third time of his NHL career, and his second time facing the Vancouver Canucks, you knew the Stars were going to have to muster up some robust offensive support. Losing a 3 to 1 sleeper to the Canucks Saturday night at the American Airlines Center, you can clearly see that didn't happen. Stars Coach Pete Deboer stated during a post-game presser,

"I thought Murray was fine. You put a young guy in like that, you'd like to give him some run support. You know I think that's on us. That game's not on him. That's on us not giving him some offensive support. I thought he did what he was supposed to do. "

Agreed.

Let's take a closer look at the numbers to see how they bear out. When the dancing Otter is in goal, the Stars boast a per-game goal against an average of 2.5 goals. When another Stars goaltender is in net, (Scott Wedgewood or Matt Murray), the per game goals against average is 3.16 goals. That held true almost to the exact number last night. When Jake "The Dancing Otter" Oettinger is in goal, the goals scored per game average is 3.08. When another Stars goaltender is in the saddle the goals scored per game is 3.6. It seems that the offense usually shows up when Oettinger is on a night off. Unfortunately, as Coach DeBoer said after the game,

"We didn't play with any energy. We didn't play with enough desperation. We didn't play with enough hunger in our game. This time of year, you can't do that".

"They were the hungrier team, and that's inexcusable this time of year for us”.

Once again, AGREED COACH! My breakdancing analogy from earlier aside, they had better find an energetic rhythm, get with the beat, stay on the beat, and they better do it soon.

Dallas Stars Twitter

The Stars fell to second in the Central division standings, with 92 points, just behind the Minnesota Wild at 93 points. With a three-game road trip commencing Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks, Friday against the Arizona Coyotes, and wrapping up Saturday at the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars have got to find a way to get their early season magic back. Let's just hope the Dancing Otter, keeps dancing baby!

- Ivan "King Dawk" Dawkins

Follow Ivan Dawkins on Twitter and Instagram at @ikingdawk for more Stars content.

Find more Stars coverage from BS3 Network here: www.bs3network.com

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First Time at a Dallas Stars Hockey Game: An Unforgettable Experience

On Thursday, I covered my first hockey game, the Dallas Stars vs Pittsburgh Penguins. I was excited and looking forward to it but didn't know what to expect. I've covered other major sports, but not hockey. Hockey is my least favorite sport, but I'm learning more game by game. Here is the journey through my experience.

The atmosphere was electric, and I do mean electric!! Fans reciting the word "Stars" in the national anthem, the crowd erupting when the stars scored, and fans of all ages. The Stars fans are more excited and in unison than the Mavs fans. I was surprised by that. The sounds of the skates on the ice and the puck hitting the wall are not like any other sport, which I enjoyed.

The gameplay was interesting and nonstop. It wasn't hard following the puck, but it was difficult to understand the rules. Thankful my guy Dawk was there with me to explain some of the rules. I would highly recommend a hockey fan go with you if it's your first time.

The players' ability to skate on ice while hitting a puck with a long stick is amazing! Hockey players don't get enough respect from the sports world. There was one goal scored in the 1st period by Roope Hintz (DAL), one in the 2nd by Sidney Crosby (PIT), his first in Dallas, and three goals scored in the 3rd period by Joe Pavelski (DAL), Jamie Benn (DAL), and Pierre-Olivier Joseph (PIT). The crowd erupted on both the Dallas goals, even me and Dawk were cheering in the press box lol.

(Dallas Stars Twitter)

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The Stars were the aggressors in the 1st period and the Penguins in the 2nd period. The 3rd period was evenly aggressive with goals on both sides. The end of the game was AMAZING! Let me paint the picture, the Penguins on a power play 6 on 4 with a minute left, shot after shot on goal, and Jake Oettinger fighting for his life! The result...Oettinger comes up BIG and the Stars WIN!

A great finish and a memorable experience I won't forget.

Dallas Stars Twitter

Welp!

(Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Consistently inconsistent. That was the recurring theme for the 2022-23 Kentucky Wildcats as they sift through the obstacles that cut their season short. It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish. Had this been an actual roller coaster in an actual amusement park, thrill seekers would've gotten right back in line to ride again as soon as the ride was completed. The unpredictability was unprecedented.

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Complete cohesiveness was never able to be attained. There were things beyond on-court chemistry. Some things were beyond everyone's control. Daimion Collins' father passed away on Nov. 1. I lost my dad unexpectedly almost two years ago, I'm in my 40's. I can't imagine losing my dad in his 40s just as I was entering my 20s.

Jacob Toppin was struggling and admittedly had never been at a lower point in his life.

The injury bug was a frequent visitor as well. The struggles by all to get on the same page were real. Add in Cal and the staff not always being certain of who to play, whom to play with whom and when to play them and you had yourself a nice recipe for a team that just never would be able to click and get rolling.

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But hey, expectations are expectations. The fact that this team was never able to win six games in a row (the number of games required to win an NCAA title) even in the non-conference portion of the schedule is pretty telling. Stats and things are cool, but I don't hang onto every number or dive headlong into every single analytic that's available to be pored over. My little barometer that I've used since I was a kid has always been the schedule itself.

Indiana hasn't been on the schedule for years. UNC comes and goes but you get my point. The marquee conference games regardless of who they are and the two Tennessee games will usually be a decent indicator. An unblemished mark, or just one loss and the result is a pretty good season overall with a legit chance to contend for a championship, which is all you can ask for. There are, of course, exceptions and outliers. The 2014 team only went 3-2 in that span (only played Tennessee once that year too) but got it going late as we all remember and made it to the championship game. The 2017 squad was 2-3 and still made it to the Elite Eight.

This year's team went 4-3 (Louisville was historically bad, and sweeping Tennessee was fun) and bowed out in the second round to Kansas State. Since their seasons ended at the hands of the same opponent I had to look back on 2018 too. They went 2-4 (Louisville was coached by David Padgett, got swept by Tennessee) and in the end bowed out to Kansas State.

January, February, Kentucky. I'm not championship or bust, but Cal and the Cats have some work to do to restore that mantra.

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