The bad news is that the Starsâ recent slump has been going on for a little while.
The good news is that there is plenty of time to fix it.
Dallas is 2-2-2 over its past six games, including a 3-2 shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday that disappointed head coach Pete DeBoer. The Stars got behind 2-0 in the game and battled back to claim a point. However, it was another inconsistent performance for a team that has the third best record in the league and a high standard that has been established during the DeBoer era.
âYouâre patient, youâre patient, youâre patientâŠto a point, and then you have to get their attention,â DeBoer said Friday. âI think we got to that point last night.â
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Part of the problem, the coach said, is the fact that other teams are dialing up their intensity in preparation for the playoffs. Dallas couldnât keep up with the pace set by Edmonton, Winnipeg, Colorado and Tampa Bay in recent games, and while there were comeback efforts in most of the contests, the bottom line is the Stars didnât initiate, but reacted instead.
âI made excuses for them for a few games there,â DeBoer said. âIâve got to stop making excuses, but there are some real underlying factors, including where you are in the standings, where the teams you are playing in the standings are, the desperation level of those teams. Weâre learning really quickly that we have to up our standards.â
The Stars have 14 games remaining before the playoffs and are in a great spot in the standings. Still, players and coaches know that you canât just flip a switch and be ready for the postseason. When asked what the window is on finding that higher level of intensity, defenseman Matt Dumba said, âThe window is right now.â
âYou want everyone feeling good going into the playoffs, structure-wise and just how efficient weâre being,â Dumba said. âYou want everyone on the same page, so when it comes to that time when youâre in these gritty games, youâre ready and you can rely on everything you have built during the year.â
The Stars on Friday worked on the details of their game like puck support and connectedness, and would like to get back to that in a 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday against Philadelphia. Dallas is third in points percentage at .662, fourth in scoring at 3.37, sixth in GAA at 2.62 and fourth in goal differential at plus-51, so it has done a lot of things right during the season.
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âIâm not sure that Iâm concerned. Iâm a little disappointed is probably a better word,â DeBoer said. âI know weâre going to get it fixed. Weâve played too good of hockey for too long a period that we wonât get it fixed.â
The coach said he doesnât mind trying to open a few eyes. Backup goalie Casey DeSmith was great on Thursday and is 6-0-1 in his past seven starts. That could open the door for more games.
âHeâs earned it,â DeBoer said. âI think everyone has been on notice, including our goalies. We have one agenda here and thatâs winning. Itâs my responsibility to give the team the best chance to win. Is Jake our starter? Yes. But Casey is making a strong case to play more.â
Jake Oettinger, who is 1-2-1 in his past four starts, could face some motivational adversity, DeBoer said. In fact, the entire team can learn from some hardship.
âI donât think itâs a bad thing,â DeBoer said. âIâd much rather go through this now than three weeks from now. I think our group has the mental toughness to respond the right way.â
The Neiman Marcus store in Dallas on Friday got a last-minute reprieve from having to close its doors for good in a deal aimed to buy the city more time to âreimagineâ a new future for the retailerâs landmark building.
City officials and the retailerâs owner, Saks Global, announced on Friday that the department store will remain open until the end of the year â instead of closing on Monday.
The agreement caps off more than a month of testy public statements by both sides over a bizarre lease dispute concerning a sliver of the building â which houses the original storeâ under the down escalator of the nine-story building.
The century-old Neiman Marcus store is considered a retail icon in Dallas. LARRY W SMITH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Barbs were exchanged for weeks and even press conferences were held outside the store by the Dallas Consortium, a group tasked with keeping the store open, which accused Saks Global of lying about its stated reason for closing the beloved department store and of unfairly taking a portrait of the storeâs founder, Stanley Marcus, to NYC.
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Terms of the deal, including any tax incentives the city may have offered, were not announced. But the idea is to âreimagineâ the store and put the space to other uses.
The talks come as city officials are looking to revive the downtown area, of which the historic retail icon is considered an anchor.
Store employees learned that their jobs were saved â at least temporarily â this morning at a store-wide meeting, The Post has learned.
Richard Baker, chairman of Saks Global, attended a crucial meeting in Dallas on March 24. Getty Images for HBC Foundation
The about-face comes after a group of Saks Global executives, including executive chairman, Richard Baker, met with Dallas officials in the city on March 24 to discuss a contentious lease that was the stated reason for the store closing.
The agreement buys Neiman Marcus and its popular Zodiac Room restaurant more time, but itâs unclear what will happen at the end of the year when the store is expected to close, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
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Between now and then, city officials and Saks Global will discuss potential concepts for the space, including a âluxury retail experience, a curated art exhibition, and a fashion and event center,â according to the statement. The proposals also include âan incubator for fashion design and manufacturing in Downtown Dallas.â
Marc Metrick is the chief executive of Saks Global, which acquired Neiman Marcus in a $2.6 billion deal in December. Getty Images
âAs we explore opportunities for the Downtown store, along with a planned renovation at the [nearby] NorthPark store, we will evaluate the opportunity to utilize both locations to serve different customer needs in the Dallas market,â Marc Metrick, chief executive of Saks Global said in a statement.
The building is owned by Saks Global and several other landlords who own smaller portions of the ground lease. One of those landlords, Slaughter Partners, owns a 2,500-square of land under the escalator.
That landlord had terminated Saks Globalâs lease, sparking the store closure announcement in February.
Dallas officials held press conferences outside the store in an effort to pressure Saks Global to keep the store open. LARRY W SMITH/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThe Dallas store is considered a linchpin to the cityâs revitalization plan. LARRY W SMITH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
But Slaughter reportedly donated its portion of the building last month to the city of Dallas to keep the store open.
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At the time Saks Global, which acquired Neiman Marcus in a $2.65 billion deal in December contended that it had ânot received any documentation regarding an agreement between Slaughter Partners and the City of Dallas, and how this new agreement would affect the property, its other owners and the storeâs ability to operate.â
âWe are excited that Saks Global has decided to keep Neiman Marcus open downtown, as we explore the opportunity to unlock the potential to transform downtown into an international beacon and economic engine for fashion â just as the Neiman Marcus founders intended when they opened the store more than 100 years ago,â Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a statement. âWe look forward to exploring whatâs on the horizon and are committed to continuing our conversations with the Saks Global team.â
Connor Zary Suspended For Elbowing Canucks Defender Elias PetterssonThe Vancouver Canucks took two points last night against the Calgary Flames, but along with Tyler Myers missing the game, they may be out another defenseman. Elias Pettersson (D) missed the majority of the game after being on the receiving end of an elbow by Flames forward Connor Zary. After having a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety today, Zary was assessed a two-game suspension.
Dallas rapper Yella Beezy was granted reduced bail Thursday morning in his recent murder indictment for allegedly ordering the killing of rapper Melvin Nobles, known as MO3.
Court documents say Beezy, whose birth name is Markies Deandre Conway, hired Kewon Dontrell White to kill Noble, who was fatally shot in broad daylight on Interstate 35E on Nov. 11, 2020. Conway is charged with capital murder for remuneration.
Yella Beezy arrested in killing of MO3: Hereâs what to know
Prior to Conwayâs charge, White was already indicted in 2021 on a murder charge in connection with Nobleâs killing. A year later, White pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced to almost 9 years in federal prison.
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Conwayâs bail was set last week at $2 million. In a court filing from Monday, he asked for it to be reduced to $250,000. The motion argued that Conway is not a flight risk, as he was born and raised in Dallas County and his family members are lifelong residents.
A representative from the District Attorneyâs office said that at a Thursday morning hearing, Conwayâs bail was reduced to $750,000. If he is released on bond, he must surrender his passport and will be required to wear an ankle monitor while on house arrest.
Toby Shook and John Gussio, Conwayâs attorneys, told The Dallas Morning News they are happy that Conwayâs bail was reduced.
âWe are very satisfied with the bond hearing,â Gussio said. âMr. Shook and I are looking forward to getting to trial on this. Our client is not guilty.â
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The feud between Conway and Nobles is part of a longstanding rivalry within the Dallas rap scene. Both rappers were rising stars from Dallas and often competed for recognition from the same audience.
According to hip-hop news outlet HypeFresh, part of the feud stemmed from a disagreement about who actually represented the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas.
Yella Beezy and MO3 exchanged diss tracks and insults on social media over the years, although they denied having any issues with one another.
Staff Writers Zara Amaechi and Alex Nguyen contributed to this report.
