I Believe in the Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars have changed a lot since the last time their name and roster were inscribed onto the Stanley Cup.

I had a more difficult time than I anticipated getting back into hockey after the lockout.  The few seasons before that had been hard—the Cup had been snatched from our collective grasp by the New Jersey Devils, and the team never seemed to really recover after that.  The Stars racked up a few more division championships, but just couldn’t get past the conference semi-finals and go all the way. 

When the lockout happened and the season got canceled, I was so disappointed with the NHL in general I almost gave up.  But when the new season dawned, I just couldn’t help myself.  I couldn’t turn away from my team. 

I’ll admit, it took me a good two years to get back into rabid fan mode.  I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t know half the players on the ice at the beginning of last season.  The fire that I had seen in the Stars’ eye seemed dimmer, and I wondered if the hockey heyday in Dallas had been lost forever.  The sheer excitement of the 98-99 and 99-00 seasons was still fresh in my mind, and I was missing that feeling.  

It’s been almost 10 years since the Stars brought home the Cup, but this is the first year I’ve felt a glimmer of that excitement again.  The players have changed, I’m not really used to the new blue line rule, and I absolutely hate the overtime shootout, but I’m seeing the kind of team on the ice that I remember.  

When I look down onto the ice, it’s still weird for me to see the big “C” on Brenden Morrow’s jersey.  Part of me still expects Darien Hatcher to be wearing it, skating along like a bouncer on ice, ready to plow Jeremy Roenick into the boards and lead the team to victory.  Part of me still expects Darryl Sydor to be working with Sergei Zubov to kill off power plays.  Part of me still expects Eddie Belfour to be in goal.

There are new players that stand out to me now: Ribeiro, Miettenen, Lundqvist, Grossman, Richards, Daley, Ott.  Brenden Morrow has turned into one hell of a hard-hitting captain; he may be feet shorter than Hatcher and pounds lighter, but he’s out there checking Roenick into the boards with the best of them.  With the kind of game he has played throughout the playoffs, it seemed fitting that he would score the final goal to clinch the semi-finals against the Sharks.  It was an answer—to the refs, who recalled two of his goals in Game 5 and turned the game into a stunning Sharks win; to the Sharks, who had rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to push the series from a possible Stars sweep all the way to a Game 6; and to the fans, who chanted his name and cheered him to win.  

Marty Turco has turned into quite the goalie since I first saw him start for Dallas.  It was a joy to see him shake off his tendency to choke in the playoffs and be unshakeable in the crease.  The man stopped 61 goals in a battle that lasted the length of two regulation games.  He was tired, he was dehydrated, but he didn’t give up.  He took IV fluids after the second OT period and went right back out onto the ice to protect our goal until we could win.

The rally cry for this season’s playoffs is I Believe.  It’s all over the American Airlines Center, it’s all over the playoff promos, and it’s on every fan’s lips—including mine.  I believe in my team.  I believe we can win.  And I believe that this year’s success is only the beginning of yet another hockey heyday for Dallas.

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