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4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 8-1 loss to the Dallas Stars: ‘We have to get stronger mentally’

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4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 8-1 loss to the Dallas Stars: ‘We have to get stronger mentally’


DALLAS — The Chicago Blackhawks ushered in the new year by getting ushered out of Dallas via a two-game weekend sweep.

Whereas Friday’s loss to the Stars was a roller-coaster ride that was settled with 8 seconds left in overtime, Sunday’s 8-1 loss at American Airlines Center was all but a foregone conclusion after a three-goal first period and two-goal second.

The Hawks entered the rematch knowing what to look for: odd-man rushes.

The problem was, the Stars hardly left the offensive zone, so they did most of their damage from below the blue line.

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Craig Smith deflected in Sam Steel’s snipe for the game’s opening goal.

Ryan Suter and Tyler Seguin scored two minutes apart.

The Hawks had a few of their best chances during a second-period push.

Ryan Donato backhanded a backdoor pass to Jason Dickinson but Dickinson couldn’t capitalize. Isaak Phillips had a short-range wrister.

A blast from Lukas Reichel couldn’t find its mark, and Nick Foligno tried a wraparound.

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Nada.

Then the Stars collected themselves and continued the onslaught.

Sam Steel blew through the Hawks defense to score on a roofer, and Mason Marchment scored on the power play to pad the lead to 5-0.

The Hawks must’ve had a heart-to-heart or drew up a play in chalk or something during the second intermission.

Philipp Kurashev scored a power-play goal on a tick-tack-toe from Connor Bedard and Cole Guttman 39 seconds into the final frame.

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But that glimmer of hope faded quickly when Roope Hintz batted in a rebound goal out of midair.

Petr Mrázek got the hook and Arvid Söderblom got the nod.

He didn’t emerge unscathed either. Marchment bagged his second and third goals of the night in the final 5 1/2 minutes.

The Hawks played a dismal first period, allowed 35 shots, committed three penalties and generally looked worse after getting a second crack at the same team.

And they gave up a hat trick to Marchment, just like they gave Roope Hintz a hat trick on Friday.

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So what did they learn?

“We have to get stronger mentally and learn to play a little simpler, to the game plan, and getting pucks behind the team, forecheck them well, and then we have to be on top of our checks everywhere,” coach Luke Richardson said.

“We can’t hang behind them,” he said. “We don’t have the wheels for it, the strength for it yet, as individuals or as a team, to play loose run-and-gun hockey.

“We just got to be stronger to sit with our game plan for 60 minutes, not 15 or 45, which has happened lately.”

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Tyler Johnson left in the second with an apparent leg injury.

“He’ll probably be out for a little time,” Richardson said.

Here are four takeaways.

Foligno often gives animated postgame gut-check whenever the team has a bad performance, but he was practically apoplectic after an 8-1 beating.

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“That is really, really disappointing,” he said. He expected the same “compete” the Hawks showed Friday and didn’t get it.

“My only hope for a game like today is we just finally hammer it through our thick heads how we’re going to need to play, and that is not it. That is just not who we are, not who we can be. That’s not what we expect in the room, that’s not what our fans should expect.

“That’s what pisses me off. That’s not a winning team, that’s just a team hoping. Hoping, ‘Ah, maybe it’s an easy night. Maybe the other team doesn’t have it.’ Are you kidding me? That team’s record, and we’re going to play like that? I’m sorry, just that one is really, really frustrating with the strides we think we’ve been making.”

Foligno mentioned “easy” again: “Tonight it was just like we were hoping to have an easy game. Who are we to have an easy game right now?”

So what does he mean by “easy”?

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“Just the compete,” Foligno said. “You watch our puck battles, our battles in front, our changes, the way we change.

“Things that sometimes you can get away with here and there, but when a team like that is playing against you that’s structured, that’s older, that has had winning habits and understands the game, you’re going to get picked apart, and that’s what it was tonight.”

Kevin Korchinski broke the puck out, drop-passed to Bedard in the neutral zone and made two Stars defenders bump into each other as Bedard passed to Kurashev.

Kurashev hit Cole Guttman and drifted backward, Guttman passed to Bedard, and Bedard threaded a backdoor pass to Kurashev for the goal.

Richardson said the execution on the power play hadn’t been great to that point, “so Derek Plante talked to them and kind of fine-tuned it a little bit.

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“But that was more their individual skill, making that line rush on that goal and it was a nice goal,” he said. “But a little bit too late for us to play with that kind of fire.”

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Söderblom and defenseman Isaak Phillips defend as Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz shoots in the third period on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in Dallas.

Tinordi was benched Friday after a terrible night culminated in him getting turnstiled on a third-period goal.

It was worse for Phillips.

He was on the ice for six of the Stars’ eight goals.

He got caught flat-footed by Steel before Steel backhanded a roof shot past Mrázek. Mason Marchment whipped in a power-play goal from the low slot while Phillips wasn’t scrambling to find the puck between his legs.

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Richardson said he told Phillips that he had a strong game on Friday.

“And then tonight, just on the wrong side of guys and not aware,” Richardson said. “I think when things start to go bad, kind of like what we talked about with Tinordi last game, it seemed to go like that with Philly.

“I think he started to guess a little bit instead of just playing and doing his job and trusting everybody else, and when teams and individuals start doing that, it breaks down.”

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic shoots against the Seattle Kraken during the second period on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Seattle.

It’s the much-maligned plus-minus rating.

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Sure, there’s some fluke factor baked into the stat. But that can’t totally explain away Vlasic’s team-leading plus-10 rating entering Sunday’s game, especially because he’s not exactly a big contributor on offense.

“I was not aware of it,” Vlasic said about the stat. “You know, there’s going to be times where you get lucky and you’re on the ice when your team scores. And then there’s going to be times when you get unlucky and you’re on the ice and the other team scores.

“It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault or whatever, so it’s not always an accurate representation of how people are playing. But I like to take pride in just shutting down things defensively and then trying to contribute a little bit offensively.”



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Dallas, TX

One Dallas Cowboys Contract That Will Age Poorly in 2026

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One Dallas Cowboys Contract That Will Age Poorly in 2026


Oftentimes, it’s a good idea to extend players early. The Dallas Cowboys have learned this the hard way as they’ve allowed negotiations with key contributors such as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons to get out of hand.

Prescott was able to use his leverage to land a contract worth $60 million per season, which was a record at the time. Lamb held out during that same offseason, eventually landing a deal worth $34 million annually, whereas Parsons forced his way out after his negotiations stalled.

To their credit, the Cowboys might have tried to avoid more issues by signing a few players early. That includes guard Tyler Smith, who landed a four-year, $96 million extension in 2025. That has proven to be a home run, but the same can’t be said for another one of their big extensions.

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Dallas decided to lock up cornerback DaRon Bland, signing the former fifth-round pick to a four-year, $92 million extension. This was a surprise move from the Cowboys since Bland was coming off a frustrating season, which was marred by a foot injury. The Cowboys were banking on Bland returning to the form we saw in 2023, but that wasn’t the case.

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Bland continued to struggle with durability and wasn’t the impact player we saw during his breakout season when he was on the field. Now, he enters his fifth season in the league with a hefty price tag, and there are questions about his long-term status with the team.

DaRon Bland’s cap hit in 2026 is a problem

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Dallas Cowboys CB Daron Bland carries the ball after an interception for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

According to Over The Cap, Bland has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team this season. Bland, who is earning an annual average salary of $23 million, has a hit of $17 million this year.

The good news for the Cowboys is that they seemed to protect themselves slightly with this deal. While they can’t feasibly move on in 2026, even if Bland loses his starting job, they do have a way out of his deal next year.

Dallas can release Bland ahead of the 2027 season while absorbing a dead cap hit of $12.941 million. That would essentially make his deal a two-year contract for $36.355 million. That’s still not an ideal situation for the Cowboys, but that’s also what happens when the front office rolls the dice.

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It’s also an unfortunate trend, as the Cowboys decided to extend Michael Gallup and Terence Steele while coming off injury-plagued seasons, and the results weren’t much better.

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Alanna Smith injury update: Dallas Wings player in concussion protocol

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Alanna Smith injury update: Dallas Wings player in concussion protocol


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When the Dallas Wings travel to Las Vegas for a clash with the Aces on Thursday night, they’ll be without one of their key players.

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Alanna Smith is listed as out for Thursday on the latest WNBA injury report as she is in concussion protocol.

Smith seemingly suffered an injury to her face on Saturday night during the Wings’ 93-92 win over the Chicago Sky. In the first quarter, Smith was shaken up after a head-to-head collision with Gabriela Jaquez as Smith was defending the Sky rookie’s drive to the basket. At halftime, the team announced that Smith would not return to the game.

On Monday, Smith didn’t play in the Wings’ 112-110 overtime win over the Seattle Storm, listed as being out due to a face injury. Smith has worn a protective face mask after she suffered a nasal fracture in the Wings’ preseason game against the Aces on May 3.

Smith is the highest-paid player on the Dallas roster, signing a three-year deal worth about $3.7 million this offseason. Last season with the Minnesota Lynx, she was the co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the award with A’ja Wilson.

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A 6-foot-4 forward from Australia who played collegiately at Stanford, Smith found a consistent role over the past two seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, starting in all 81 games she appeared in for Cheryl Reeve’s squad. Across two seasons in Minnesota, Smith averaged 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, helping the Lynx make back-to-back playoff appearances — including a trip to the Finals in 2024.

With the Wings, she’s started in just seven of the 15 games she’s appeared in, playing an average of 15.1 minutes per game. She’s posting 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Dallas has instead turned to Jessica Shepard in the frontcourt, who also arrived via free agency after spending last season with the Lynx. The Notre Dame product is posting career-highs in points (14.2), rebounds (11.1) and assists (5.6) per game while shooting 57% from the floor.

Still, Smith brings an imposing presence on defense, one that would have come in handy against the Aces.

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These children were sold for sex. Then the system failed them again

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These children were sold for sex. Then the system failed them again


A 12-year-old Dallas middle-schooler ended up on the streets, where a pimp discovered her. For as little as $50, he sold her for sex. He withheld food unless she worked. She later disappeared into the state’s foster care system after suffering from depression. She attempted suicide.

A 13-year-old seventh- grader was forced to have sex with men in Houston by a pimp who hooked her on drugs. She died shortly after turning 18 from a fentanyl overdose — a few months before her abuser was sentenced to prison.

A 17-year-old Lubbock runaway was required to have sex with men in hotels and truck stops until she earned her pimp $1,000 daily. That quota meant seeing up to 20 “clients” per day. She spiraled into drug addiction.

These children have more in common than the abuse they endured — and the lifelong trauma that comes with it. Each was mandated by federal law to receive financial compensation from the pimps and pedophiles who abused them.

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You can read more in-depth reporting from our media partner, The Dallas Morning News.



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