First Shift 🏒

The Stars had the best road record in franchise history last season.

Looking back, it’s difficult to pin down exactly why.

Obviously, this is a good team and had the second-best overall record in the NHL, so the 26-10-5 mark away from home was a big part of that. But as they try to follow that up this season and are off to a 4-4-0 start on the road, there is no real magic formula they can return to.

“We just have to play our game, it doesn’t matter where we are playing,” said Duchene. “You guys always look at the home and road and think there’s something to it, but there’s nothing to it to us.”

The Stars have an 8-2-0 record at home, including one “home” loss in Tampere, Finland. Last season, they sometimes struggled at home, including a 4-6 mark at American Airlines Center in the playoffs. So how is it they are having such a great start this year?

“It’s hard to say,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said when asked about the issues on the road. “It’s like our home record this year. It’s not like we’re doing anything different, we’re just winning games. When I look at our road games this year, we’ve played some really good teams.”

Among the road losses are Florida, Winnipeg and Washington – three of the top 10 teams in the league. That’s important as they head out on a three-game road trip with contests against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Both are traditional Eastern Conference powers.

“It’s a great test,” DeBoer said. “In the next five games, we have Colorado, Winnipeg, Tampa and Carolina, top teams in the league. So those are great tests for us.”

That can be a huge portion of the midseason for the 12-6-0 Stars.

“I think it can be a turning point,” said goalie Jake Oettinger. “We’ve had an up and down start. Our record is pretty good but I don’t think we’ve played our best yet. These are some great tests on the road.”

Did Oettinger have an explanation for posting an 18-6-2 road record last season?

“Personally, for me, you need to be able to weather storms and close out games,” Oettinger said. “Those are all things we can get better at this year.”

Doing it now would be ideal.

“I always think we have our best against some of those top teams,” said Duchene. “We love that challenge, because those are the teams we’re going to need to beat if we want to achieve our ultimate goal.”

And as for finding specific reasons for wins away from home? Well, the reasons are pretty much the same no matter where you are.

“Hockey is hockey,” Duchene said. “We have a great game plan. I’ve talked about how well-coached we are. We know what the recipe is for ourselves and we make adjustments to whoever we’re playing. We’re well prepared and it’s up to us as players to execute.”

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says the city will help President-elect Donald Trump deport undocumented migrants accused of violent crimes.

During an interview Wednesday on Fox News, Johnson also suggested there needed to be stricter security at the U.S.-Mexico border. The mayor made the comments after being asked how Dallas was addressing migrants in the city and if he would deport them.

“Of course, we’d support that,” Johnson said during the three-minute segment. “Of course, we’d stand by President Trump in an effort to get rid of people in our country illegally who have violent criminal records or who commit violent criminal acts here. But even more than that, people need to understand it’s a strain on our school system, it’s a strain on our hospital system, there are hidden costs to having a porous, open border, and we need to shut that down.”

Johnson’s office didn’t respond Friday to requests for comment following up on if there have been any city discussions about the role Dallas would play in the president-elect’s deportation plans. The Dallas Police Department declined to comment, referring questions to the city’s communications department.

When asked if city officials have had discussions, city spokesman Nick Starling said, “Because that statement was made by Mayor Johnson, please reach out to his office directly.”

As Dallas mayor, Johnson doesn’t have the power to unilaterally direct police or city policy related to undocumented immigrants. The mayor and the city’s 14 district council members have equal voting power on policy decisions, which typically require majority approval to pass.

The Dallas City Council passed a resolution in June condemning a delayed state law that would allow police to arrest people suspected of illegally entering Texas from Mexico.

Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4 late last year. It was supposed to go into effect in March, but lawsuits from the U.S. Justice Department and others arguing that it violates the Constitution led to a federal appeals court injunction temporarily blocking the law from being enforced. Opponents have called it discriminatory against Latinos and migrants, while supporters have called it vital for border security.

Johnson was one of three members of the City Council to vote against the local resolution, which is non-binding. The mayor never gave the public an explanation for his “no” vote.

Trump promised a record amount of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants once he is inaugurated in January. He posted on Truth Social on Nov. 18 confirming he is considering declaring a national emergency to secure military aid in the deportation efforts.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday offering a 1,400-acre state-owned ranch on the southern border to help the administration in carrying out deportation plans.

Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he thought it was shocking the mayor of Dallas would publicly support “Trump’s xenophobic policies.” He noted the incoming Los Angeles police chief recently vowed the department wouldn’t assist in mass deportations and Denver’s mayor and Illinois’ governor said their jurisdictions wouldn’t cooperate with the president-elect’s plans.

“Dallas is a majority Latino city, and there are a large number of Latino families that are mixed, where some members are undocumented, and some are not,” said Garcia, a former Dallas City Council member and former state representative. “Mass deportations and threats to divide families are just un-Christian and no way to treat people at the bottom rung of society.

“You have multiple billionaires complaining that the poorest people are the problem, and it’s just a big lie,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately, looks like the mayor of Dallas bought into that big lie.”

Though Johnson was specific in his language about who would be targeted, Trump and some of his picks for cabinet positions have been broader.

Tom Homan, Trump’s nominee to be border czar overseeing the country’s deportation enforcement, told conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk on Nov. 12 “entry into this country illegally is a crime; every illegal alien in this country committed a crime to get here, so they’re all criminals.”

“Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” said Homan, a former Border Patrol agent and former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’re going to enforce the law without apologies, and the day Donald Trump takes that oath, we’re in a ‘go mode.’ And if any government wants to stand in the way, go ahead and do it. We’ll see what happens.”

Johnson has been Dallas mayor since 2019 and spent about 10 years before that in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat. Johnson declared himself Republican in September 2023, four months after he was reelected to his second and final term as mayor, a nonpartisan role. The move was widely speculated as a precursor to Johnson seeking a more prominent position under the GOP banner.

Johnson announced earlier this year he voted for Trump and was committed to “retiring Joe Biden.” He spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, endorsing the now president-elect and criticizing the Democratic Party as not being tough enough on crime. The Dallas mayor was at Trump’s victory party in Florida on election night.

Johnson was interviewed on Fox News on Wednesday about an opinion piece published earlier in the week where he wrote the Democratic Party should have seen his party declaration switch as “a wake-up call.”

“(Trump) has shown that he cares about solving problems in urban America, and as president, his policies will help lead a revival of our country’s great cities, making them safe and prosperous again,” Johnson wrote. “And through the new administration, working-class individuals will again feel at home in America’s cities — and in the Republican Party. I know I do.”

Previously we broke down the offense for this week’s upcoming game for the Dallas Cowboys. Now we dive back into the position battleground, this time looking at how the defensive positions and special teams stack up against each other.

DEFENSIVE LINE

What more can we say about this defensive line we haven’t already complained about this season? The sad fact is this Dallas defensive line has allowed more rushing touchdowns than any other team in the NFL, and only the Carolina Panthers have allowed more rushing yards. No matter how much people tell you this is a passing league, the easiest way to control and win a game is to dominate in the ground game. Every week we see the opposition running at will against Dallas and that makes for a long day as a Cowboys fan. Last week, Joe Mixon was the latest to enjoy the freedom and averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns. Now that same defensive line is facing an offense that ranks sixth in rushing yards and leads the league in rushing touchdowns.

The Dallas Cowboys rank last in rushing touchdowns and that will suit Dan Quinn and his defensive line perfectly. Their defensive line is giving up a lot of yards on the ground and ranks right behind Dallas, but they are allowing a lot fewer rushing touchdowns than Dallas. In what we expect in the typical Dan Quinn system, it leaks a lot on the ground but makes up for it in sacks, pressures and reducing passing yards. The Washington Commanders have notched 29 sacks this year, that’s the fifth-most, and the player leading the team in sacks is none other than Dante Fowler Jr. He now has 8.5 sacks which is third-most in the league and his 10 tackles for loss is fourth-most. Another ex-Cowboy defensive linemen ranks behind Fowler for the Commanders in sacks, Dorance Armstrong, and that just adds more salt to the wound. Both Jonathan Allen and Javontae Jean-Baptiste will miss this game and have been moved to injured reserve.
Win: Commanders

LINEBACKER

This could be a place where the Cowboys match up well against the Commanders thanks to the efforts of DeMarvion Overshown and Eric Kendricks. Among linebackers in the league, Kendricks ranks in the top-ten in tackles with 87, and Overshown is proving to be quite the Swiss Army knife out there utilizing his speed and acceleration on every down.

Why this isn’t a cut-clear win for Dallas at linebacker this week is the Commanders have two productive linebackers on their roster. Frankie Luvu is second on the team in sacks with seven, and the other linebacker is the great Bobby Wagner. He may not be the Wagner of years past, but he’s still a great tackler and still possesses high-level instincts to find the ball carrier.

Conclusion:
The Commanders linebackers have more sacks but the Cowboys group have more tackles. To break the tie is missed tackles, where Dallas has more.
Win: Commanders

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Seeing this defensive back unit try and operate without DaRon Bland is a tough watch. Caelen Carson was left out last week and in his place stepped Josh Butler. He made one very good pass breakup but also gave up some big plays. Malik Hooker getting an interception was a good moment and although he’s been up and down this year. Markquese Bell left last week’s game early with a shoulder injury, he’s now being shutdown for the season. Jourdan Lewis missed last week so keep an eye on his status this week. And, of course, keep an eye on the situation with DaRon Bland that as he edges closer to starting.

The Commanders defensive backs enjoy the fact the defensive line is getting so much pressure up front. Although they are allowing very few passing yards, that factor is two-fold. One is due to the fact the defensive front is doing well creating pressure, but the other fact is due to teams finding it easier to run on them than passing. The team has few interceptions and has allowed more receiving touchdowns than Dallas. For everything the Commanders defense does well in the passing game, the passer rating allowed in comparison to Dallas is negligible. Jeremy Chinn is tackling everything that comes his way but the biggest threat in the secondary is the recently-acquired Marshon Lattimore. He could make his debut with the team this week.

Conclusion:
This would be much easier to deduce if Bland was in the mix here. Without him we have to give the nod to Washington based on the fact they are keeping the yards extremely low.
Win: Commanders

SPECIAL TEAMS

Is there anything more Dallas this year than watching Brandon Aubrey looking to take a long field goal attempt, for a foul to go in Dallas’ favor, and then for that drive to end in zero points scored. Aubrey is fourth in field goals made and his 89% accuracy rating ranks 12th among starting kickers.

Austin Seibert has made two more field goals than Aubrey and has a 92% accuracy rating. Where these two kickers differ is in field goals of 50+ yards where they are miles apart. Aubrey has made ten field goals at long distance and has a 91% accuracy, Siebert has made one from three attempts.

KaVontae Turpin ranks second in kickoff return and punt return average, he also has a punt return for a touchdown.

Olamide Zaccheaus averages 10.9 yards per punt return, that ranks 19th, and Austin Ekler ranks sixth in kickoff return yards.
Win: Cowboys