Good times Significant?
Burish last played Feb. 3 against Boston. Since, the Stars went 1-6-1 going from third in the Western Conference to 10th and first in the Pacific Division to fourth.
This was was huge. Gigantic.
Without this win, the Stars compound all the other losses. They get stuck at 68 points and potentially slip very easily to 11th or 12th in the conference. The Stars have 21 games left and getting left behind now without any real opportunity to come back would be killer.
Now, they can concentrate on getting healthy, gain back some confidence and move onward or upward.
Keep this night in mind. We might look back in a month and note tonight's win as a benchmark moment for this team.
Notes:
1. Kari Lehtonen has failed to register a shutout this season. In 56 games start in Dallas over two years, he's not blanked an opponent. It's almost hard not to shut someone out.
2. Burish had blue balls: Collected 14 penalty minutes off a holding, roughing and 10-minute misconduct.
3. Jamie Langenbrunner tallied 14 points in 31 games in New Jersey. He has nine in 19 games in Dallas.
4. With his goal tonight, Loui Eriksson became the fourth star with 20 games. He scored 27 a year ago. One of those 20-goal guys was James Neal.
5. Alex Goligoski pitched in an assist and a +3. Already, very useful.
