Coming away from Tuesday night's Stars at Kings game in Los Angeles, there isn’t much to be said. The Stars didn’t skate as the better team but they did at least earn themselves a point, but lost in a tough shootout. The bigger issue heading into Thursday was the possibility of losing Captain Brenden Morrow after his defense of the injured and bleeding Mike Ribiero.
After a vicious hit on Mike Ribiero (pictured) by the Kings Dustin Brown, it appears Ribiero’s helmet cut him on the face after his face made contact with the boards. Seeing his injured center bleeding on the ice, Morrow did the thing any normal hockey player would do. He defended his injured teammate from what what he saw as an unneeded hit.
"I think that's a hockey play," Morrow said to the Dallas Morning News. "If something was to be reviewed, I would say it would be the hit and not the fight after, in my opinion. ... He's our most skilled player, he was in a vulnerable position, and I didn't know how bad he was hurt. In my opinion, that's hockey, and I've got no regrets for what happened."
Ribiero returned to the bench for the overtime and shootout after receiving 10 stitches. Upon his return during the overtime and shootout Ribiero extended the Stars life in the shootout.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Lucky for the Stars, both Morrow and Ribiero will be ready to suit up tomorrow nights game, as the NHL chose not to enforce the instigator rule on Morrow.
Heading into Thursday’s game there are still concerns over the Stars record and lack of ability to win games. Possibly with the added momentum of the big hit, and the captain able to stay in the lineup, the Stars will be able to pull off the win on the Kings.
"I don't think any of us is looking at this road trip as a success," Morrow said. "Every team in our division is collecting points, and we're kind of puttering around. We need to collect points, and, bottom line, wins.'
For Morrow and the rest of the Dallas Stars, if wins don’t start coming soon, the team might need to get used to being in the basement of the Pacific Division.
Dallas Stars Community Leader Ian Robinett takes a look into Thursday’s game against Los Angeles in Dallas:
Tomorrow night, Dallas has a chance to begin their redemption by finishing up the home-and-home with the Kings. The way their first meeting ended, I expect a vicious game. The Kings are cranky with Ribiero for his "shush-ing" of the bench in the shootout, and the Stars are very upset with the hit Ribiero sustained in order to get the nasty gash on his head. Regardless of the outcome, both teams are coming in looking to continue the brutality of game one, and looking to prove to their fans, and the league, that they are to be taken seriously, and begin climbing up the rankings of the Western Conference.
Image: Courtesy of Yahoo Sports and Getty Images
Quotes: Courtesy of the Dallas Morning News
Ken Armer is the NHL Community Coordinator for Bleacher Report and also serves as the Community Leader for the Dallas Stars. He can be contacted on his profile or by e-mail at karmer@bleacherreport.com.
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