November rolls in…

After a disappointing loss last night in Nashville, the Dallas Stars can now turn the page on October and set their sights on the 13 games they will play in November. Seven of those will take place at the AAC while 6 will be on the road, including a 4 game swing starting Saturday in Minnesota.

Although the Stars finished the month losing their last two games, they move forward with a fairly solid 6-3-5 record, good for 17 points and stand alone in 6th place in the conference.

Now the fun begins as the schedule gets more challenging and teams identities take shape. Speaking of which, as posted previously, the jury is still out on this years version of the Stars.

One thing is clear. This team will go only as far as Marty Turco’s ability and health will take them. His bout with the flu

Dallas Stars G Mart Turco - Photo Texas Mustang/Flickr

this week left no illusions as to what stands behind him. Alex Auld is at best a serviceable back-up. He has his moments but more often than not let’s in the soft goal, the bane of many a coach.

Brad Richards is off to a great start and finally looks comfortable in his role with the team. In only 12 games he’s already ammassed 17 points, good for 6th in the league. It will be interesting to see if his minutes increase as he was on the ice for only 17:08 against the Predators.

Having served his 2 game suspension, Steve Ott returned to the lineup last night and quickly potted one from a customary positon. His power play goal from directly in front, off a rebound of a Brad Richards shot should not only bolster the power play but add overall toughness as well.

As far as the schedule goes we should know a lot more about this team shortly after Thanksgiving. Of the 13 games this month, only 3 will be against teams with losing records.

Next up, the Calgary Flames, with Dion Phaneuf and Jay Bouwmeester, come calling Wednesday night at the AAC.

Hopefully Marty Turco is fully recovered and ready to play…say, the next 60 of the 68 remaining games!