The Dallas Stars celebrated Tyler Seguin’s 1000th NHL game, but didn’t have much going on the ice in a 4-0 loss against the Florida Panthers at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

Seguin gets the silver stick

Tyler Seguin skated in his 1000th NHL game in Tampa Bay on Oct. 30. It was a great night, where the Stars training staff supplied Seguin’s teammates with 1000th game shirts, as well as fake tattoo sleeves to honor No. 91. The boys also went no buckets in warmup, which was a great touch. I think a few of them even taped their sticks with Seguin’s favorite candy cane tape job.

It was all in good fun, despite Dallas falling in overtime against the Lightning.

If you missed it, the Stars released a really cool video today with some footage and behind-the-scenes of that whole night.

And if you missed my blurb about Seguin’s 1000th, you can read that here.

I ran into Seguin at Comerica Center earlier this week. While a few Stars skated in an optional practice, Seguin walked around the hallways in Frisco in sweats. He looked a bit defeated. And rightfully so. The 33-year-old was facing yet another major surgery after tearing his ACL in a freak accident against the New York Rangers. I went over to say hi, thinking he would be pretty down and not in the mood to talk, so I would give him my best and be on my way.

But I was quickly reminded of what makes Tyler Seguin, Tyler Seguin. He is never defeated.

Seguin has been through a gauntlet of injuries. He has dealt with horrific and extended rehabs, some resulting in complete loss of muscle and some that forced him to build an entire gym in his home to speed up the process and get back on the ice. Yet, through it all, he has remained Tyler Seguin.

And on Monday, that was again the case. He was still smiling. He was still joking around. And he even had his usual confidence and swagger when I asked how long he thinks his recovery will be this time. He simply said, “Depends who you ask. I have a different timeline than everyone else.”

And he’s not wrong. Seguin made it back for the end of the regular season last spring despite being told his recovery may push into the first or second round, if not longer. But, just like he always has, he put his head down and went to work. And I don’t expect anything different from him this time around.

Is there a better player to be around as a teammate, especially a young one? There are not many. His attitude is contagious. He is always fun to be around, whether you are a teammate, employee, fan, or even media member (he is constantly pulling the ol’ tap me on the other shoulder trick, and I fall for it every time). He oozes confidence on and off the ice. And he now has the wisdom and experience to learn from his past and pass that on to others.

And that’s what made this injury so hard to see for pretty much anyone who has watched or interacted with him. It felt like he just got himself back and was on a path to playing consistent hockey at a high level. Which, by the way, he has done when actually healthy. Then he went down again, and again it was a serious injury that will require surgery.

The media felt it. Fans felt it. Employees felt it. And of course, his teammates, friends, and family felt it. And while Seguin did too, he isn’t showing it. That’s part of what makes him special.

Dallas took the time to encase one of Seguin’s sticks in silver and find a date that would work well for his family to have the 1000th game ceremony. That’s why it was nearly two months between his 1000th and tonight’s celebration.

Seguin told me how important this ceremony was for him and his family. So important, in fact, that he held off getting his surgery (among medical reasons) so he could walk out on the ice and accept the silver stick, custom golf cart, and plaque.

The ceremony itself was great. Daryl Reaugh introduced Seguin, while the entire Stars and Panthers lineups sat on the bench watching. Seguin told me he was going to have trouble getting throguh it without getting emotional — especially with what he is currently going through — and I can tell you… He got emotional.

During the game, Seguin was celebrated on the big board with messages from Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid (he was booed, don’t worry), John Klingberg, Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, Ben Bishop, Jason Spezza, Brad Marchand (who scored twice in the game), Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Dak Prescott, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Another nice touch.

Congratulations to Tyler Seguin. And here’s to a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

Jamie Benn says, “wake the F up”

The Stars have been getting away with playing mediocre hockey for a bit of time now. And I don’t blame them with the injures and condensed schedule. Finding a way to win so many games to start the season is a huge accomplishment. But at some point, that style of play felt like it would catch up to them.

It did exactly that on Thursday in Minnesota.

The team used Friday as a day off to recover a bit. And going into tonight, I wondered whether we would see a Dallas team with new legs and jump or one which was still battling fatigue while figuring out their style on the ice.

Through two periods, it was clearly the second. Dallas, for the second consecutive game, only mustered nine shots after 40 minutes. It was sloppy, they made puck errors, and they compounded mental mistakes that often come with fatigue.

So, captain Jamie Benn decided to try to wake his team up by doing this. And it certainly looked to do the job, pulsing energy onto the bench and throughout the AAC.

“He stood in there,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “And then, certainly the boys knew, and even in between periods, the guys knew. And you look at our push in the third, we pushed. But they had their A-game and locked in, and our guys were pushing, not only for ourselves but they know our captain stepped to the plate. It was a third period where you had to have some character… Could go one way or the other. I thought our guys pushed.”

Unfortunately, the game went right to a commerical break after that, and soon after the puck dropped again, the Stars made a sloppy change and Sergei Bobrovsky smartly fired the puck at the Dallas bench to draw a too-many-men minor. Marchand scored on a one-timer from Sam Reinhart to put Florida up 3-0 and in full command of the game.

Gulutzan said that tonight would be a good measuring stick game against an angry Panthers team coming off two Stanley Cups but also a lopsided loss to Colorado. I am not so good at math, but how is that measuring looking right now?

I know the Stars have shown their ability to come back in games. It has become part of their DNA over the years. But if they plan to do that tonight, they need to come out with an entirely different game and some energy to start the third. An early goal wouldn’t hurt either.

Sometimes, it’s just not your night

I hate to say this because I like to think I can break down a game a bit further than that. Plus, Florida is an excellent defensive team.

But tonight was largely about the guys in victory green and black simply not having their A-game.

When pucks continuously roll off sticks, passes are either in the feet or just out of reach, and you see overskating pucks, bad exchanges between goalie and defensemen, and a whole bunch of nothing created on the power play, it may just not be your night. Add to that the first power-play goal allowed after 35 successful kills, and the point is really driven home.

Dallas just simply didn’t have it tonight. Radek Faksa even said they have gotten “slapped” in the past couple games, and that maybe it will serve as a wake up call to start playing more consistent hockey.

Now, the question is how much of that first stretch of the season was riding a hot power play and shooting percentage? Is this actually how goood their 5-on-5 play is? Is this all part of the process of working things out under Gulutzan? Remember, the new coach said it would take time.

Maybe we are just spoiled to the fact that they have found a way to win so many games while figuring it out? And maybe that’s what has them so tired. Constantly scratching and clawing to stay alive, come back, or hold onto tight leads can be quite fatiguing. That’s why teams on the bubble all season can gas out early in the playoffs.

I don’t have the answer to these questions yet. But I am excited to find out.

Quotable

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan on how tough it is to play the Florida Panthers

“You’re always in some kind of rubber race here. You’ve got to be good on the walls… I thought first period was real low event for both teams. 
That’s the way they play. Coming off of… You know, a loss that wouldn’t sit well with probably a two-time Stanley Cup champ in Colorado, and they brought their A-game, and you guys got to see it tonight. I just thought that they stayed with it. But they capitalized quicker than we did. 
And I think if we had capitalized early, maybe changed things, but they’re never going to change a thing.”