Kings Fire Coach Crawford

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After a conference low 71 points last season, the Los Angeles Kings have given head coach Marc Crawford his marching orders.

Crawford, who’s record over his 2 seasons with the Kings is a dismal 59-84-21.  Last season the Kings tied with Eastern Conference bottom feeders, the Tampa Bay Lightning on points.

In a division that includes strong teams such as the Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, the Kings need to do far better to compete.

Tags: losangeles kings, dallas stars, anaheim ducks, san jose sharks, marc crawford, dean lombardi

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The Defending Champs Curse Strikes The Anaheim Ducks

Not since 2003 has a Stanley Cup champion made it through the first round of the playoffs the following year.  That trend has continued today after a highly underestimated Dallas Stars routed the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 in Dallas, TX.

The victory in todays game 6 not only eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champions from the playoffs, but broke the “first round” curse that has plagued the Dallas Stars for 5 long painful years.

Marty Turco, who has taken the brunt of the criticism over the previous years showed that he is one of the elite netminders in the NHL, finishing the round with a GAA of 2.01, including a shutout in game 1.

Anaheim, who were one of the strongest teams going down the final stretch into the playoffs faltered under the constant Dallas Attack, and struggled to get past the Dallas Defensive group; a group that included 3 rookies and was missing Sergei Zubov and (for most games) Philippe Boucher.

“It’s disappointing because we believe we could do better,” said Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of last year’s postseason who retired then decided to return to chase another Cup. “Our sights were set higher than this.”
- Yahoo! Sports

Dallas now have a few days to relax before the Western Conference Semi-Finals begin.  The Stars will face either the Colorado Avalanche or the San Jose Sharks in round 2, but wont know who until after game 7 between the Flames and Sharks on Tuesday evening.

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Contenders Not Pretenders

After 3 disappointing first round playoff exits, the Stars have finally found their game.

For the first time in two years, the Dallas Stars won a game in which Marty Turco did not shut out the opposition.  In doing so they served notice to the league that they are indisputable contenders, not pretenders.
- Bleacher Report

Contenders, not pretenders.  That’s exactly the message the Dallas Stars are sending to the rest of the league right now.

The Stars are leading the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 in their first round series.  2 straight wins against the Ducks is impressive, no doubt.  What makes this extra special is the Stars did it on the road, without their top playmaking defenseman Sergei Zubov, who is out due to Hernia surgery.

The key to Dallas success so far has been team-play.  The entire team has played well, and the chemistry issues that plagued the team going down the last stretch toward the playoffs appears to be a thing of the past.  Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow are dominating plays.  Mike Modano is showing he still has what it takes to be a top player in this league and newcomer Brad Richards is shining whenever his skates touch.  Richards appears to have gelled with young winger Loui Eriksson, who has a goal in each of the 2 games played in this series.  Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott have also played a role in the scoring.

The Ducks travel to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX this Tuesday for game 3.

Image source: Yahoo Images 

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