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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

‘Longest six days of my life’: Kiwis stranded in US airport without food, clothing

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‘Longest six days of my life’: Kiwis stranded in US airport without food, clothing


Still image taken from video of stranded passengers waiting for help in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, United States, on Saturday, 11 January, 2025. Photo / Carina Fischer

“Everyone went crazy in the plane. It was bonkers. Everyone was yelling, and at the end, the pilot made the announcement and everyone started chanting ‘new crew, new crew’,” Ruhlman.

“I have to go to work. I’m obviously not going to be able to work on Monday. I was supposed to arrive in Auckland on Friday morning,” Ruhlman said.

Carina Fischer, of Remuera, described the scene in the terminal as “a nightmare”.

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Fischer said: “Everyone is crying. Kids are screaming.”

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She said a relative had helped her buy a hotel room, but she had been washing her clothes in the sink and drying them with a hairdryer.

She was also worried about her child who has ADHD, saying he was without his medication as well.

She claimed American Airlines was “not helpful, not helpful at all”.

Ruhlman echoed that sentiment: “They literally don’t care that they ruined people’s holidays and so many plans – and sanity.”

She said a group of passengers were planning to write to the airline’s chief executive asking for compensation.

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“I’m so tired and still in my same clothes as Wednesday. It’s Monday …”

American Airlines was approached for comment on Saturday, but had yet to respond by Monday morning.

The flight, American Airlines 55, was due to leave the US on Wednesday, but after several false starts, the passengers were still waiting in the terminal on Saturday morning. Photo / Carina Fischer
The flight, American Airlines 55, was due to leave the US on Wednesday, but after several false starts, the passengers were still waiting in the terminal on Saturday morning. Photo / Carina Fischer

Another passenger, Sarah Botwright was due to be in New Zealand for a holiday to see her friend, said she had to be home in Ohio and she would likely have to cancel her whole trip to Godzone.

“My luggage will be going to New Zealand regardless of whether I go or not, though,” she said.

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“It’s just insane,” she said of the situation.

Local daily paper the Dallas Morning News reported more than 600 flights to and from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field had been cancelled as of 5pm Friday (12pm, Saturday, NZ).

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More than 800 flights were also delayed. American Airlines flights were the most impacted by the delays, the Dallas Morning News said.

The paper said the delays were due to a snowstorm in North Texas on Thursday which left a dumping of snow and icy conditions.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas visits Ottawa after shootout victory

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Dallas visits Ottawa after shootout victory


Associated Press

Dallas Stars (27-13-1, in the Central Division) vs. Ottawa Senators (20-18-3, in the Atlantic Division)

Ottawa, Ontario; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Stars -138, Senators +117; over/under is 5.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Ottawa Senators host the Dallas Stars after the Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in a shootout.

Ottawa has a 10-7-1 record in home games and a 20-18-3 record overall. The Senators have gone 11-5-2 in games their opponents commit more penalties.

Dallas has an 11-8-0 record in road games and a 27-13-1 record overall. The Stars have gone 13-6-1 in games their opponents commit more penalties.

The matchup Sunday is the second time these teams square off this season. The Stars won 4-2 in the last matchup. Roope Hintz led the Stars with two goals.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Joshua Norris has scored 14 goals with nine assists for the Senators. Ridly Greig has four goals and one assist over the past 10 games.

Jason Robertson has 10 goals and 24 assists for the Stars. Wyatt Johnston has four goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Senators: 4-5-1, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.4 penalties and 10.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.

Stars: 8-1-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.6 assists, 2.4 penalties and 4.8 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.

INJURIES: Senators: None listed.

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Stars: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Dallas, TX

Hundreds of volunteers clean up the community for MLK Fest Dallas 2025

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Hundreds of volunteers clean up the community for MLK Fest Dallas 2025



CBS News Texas

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DALLAS — Volunteers laced up their sneakers and beautified Dallas’ Fair Park neighborhood Saturday morning as part of the MLK Fest Dallas 2025, which aims to reduce blight and promote public art.

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CBS News Texas


Volunteers started off at the MLK Community Center and were assigned to clean up one of eight zones in South Dallas. People mowed grass, renovated homes, and painted a mural.

“It brings community together. A good friend of mine says community and unity are common unity, so we love all of it. We just want to be able to revitalize this place and give the community a sense of pride or ownership and give that back to all,” said Paul Franklin, community outreach director with the Walls Project.

Hundreds of volunteers braved the cold and came together for the large-scale community cleanup. The event brought together people from non-profits, churches, and businesses. The event aims to clean up blight while honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

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“This is just another part of how our community celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, to exemplify how important that is and how that connects us all to each other,” said Shawna Nesbitt, vice president of UT Southwestern Medical Center.

UT Southwestern Medical Center had about 160 volunteers who signed up. One of their projects included painting a mail room and bike rack at an apartment complex. Volunteers also picked up trash, cleared weeds, and spoke with those experiencing homelessness.

“I’m going to speak to the people that we see that are possibly unsheltered in tents and inform them of the center here at Fair Park that just recently opened the shelter,” said Jeremy Connally, an owner with the Epiphany Foundation.

The day ends with a block party at the MLK Community Center and a gala at the Renaissance Center.

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