Dallas, TX
Stars’ Matt Duchene talks interest in Dallas during 2019 free agency, why he wears No. 95
New Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene recently joined David Mino and Saad Yousuf on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket [KTCK-AM] to discuss what led him to Dallas and the reason he wears the No. 95.
Here are some highlights, edited for clarity:
Is Dallas a spot that you’ve wanted to see as home for a while?
Matt Duchene: “To be honest with you, I wanted to be a Nashville Predator the rest of my career once I signed there. When I went through that process, I wanted to try — Nashville was the place that we really were looking to go. At the same time, Dallas was a very close second. We wanted to see what their interest level was or what they could do [in 2019]. I talked to my agent. I literally remember where I was sitting when we talked about it. I just said, ‘Hey, what about Dallas?’ I sent him a list of teams that I’d be interested in. My second was Dallas and my third was another team that wasn’t able to do it at the time, as well. He said, ‘Yeah, I talked to Jim Nill, they don’t have the room.’ It was very short-lived, so I never really thought about it to be honest.
“Once I went to Nashville and signed a seven-year deal there, you expect to play out that deal. Obviously, I didn’t have trade protection, or much I guess, but you still expect — you go in, do your job and you play well, conduct yourself well and there’ll be no reason that that won’t happen. It’s a tough, crazy business and stuff, but stuff happens that you never see coming. I went from being in a position where I wanted to play the rest of my career for Nashville, and I knew there was going to be a little bit of a process getting to where they want to want to be. Who knows, maybe they’ll turn around quick? But I was in for it. When everything went down, you had to change gears very quickly and that was a tough band-aid to rip off for me. I had to do it very quickly and the wound was still very fresh. Having said all that, right away there was basically two spots I was looking at. I remember saying them out loud before we even started talking to anybody and Dallas was one of them. They were the No. 1 right from the start and they were the first team out of my mouth. Fortunately, they had mutual interest. It was crazy how it worked out. It was really hard to go through, but yeah, we’ve had interest in Dallas for a while and knowing that would be a great spot for us. Kind of crazy how it all came about, but sometimes the best things in life are unexpected and kind of come out of nowhere. We’re definitely hoping that’s the case and so far, it’s been just an amazing experience. We’re beyond excited to be part of this organization.”
You’ve worn No. 95 for a majority of your career. You’ll be the first Dallas Star to wear that number. Is there a reason why you’ve picked 95?
Duchene: “I’m very specific when it comes to numbers. I’ve actually worn No. 9 more than I’ve worn 95. I’ve just worn 95 for more teams. I already knew [9 was retired in Dallas]. Obviously, I told Jim Nill — he asked me if I wanted to stay with 95. I said, ‘Yeah, I was thinking about calling up [Mike] Modano and asking if he’d unretire his number for me for a one-year contract. I thought maybe I would just stick with 95.’ Obviously joking.
“But 95, basically I wore five as a kid when I was younger and then switched to nine. When I got traded to Ottawa, I was back in my home province. All the numbers I wanted to wear were taken. I was like, ‘You know what? I want to create something my own, something that nobody wears and something that’s kind of true to my roots of minor hockey, growing up here in Ontario.’ So I went with 95 and you know, it’s kind of stuck. I think it suits me and it’s kind of my own thing. It’s kind of followed me since. Now my kids only know me as No. 95, so that’s another thing. I don’t want to confuse them too much. They get pretty excited, my son will run around the living room and announce his own name and call himself No. 95. I figure we keep it going for now.”
You grew up with Tyler Seguin and he’s getting married at the Bahamas. Is it too late to get the invite?
Duchene: “You know what, I would never expect that in a million years. Even if he did, I don’t think we’d be able to with all the craziness. We’re up in the middle of nowhere here in Cottage Country in Ontario. We don’t really have anybody to watch the kids. My parents are here, but I wouldn’t wish the three of them on my worst enemy right now. So we kind of got to stay local for now, but I’m sure he’s gonna have an amazing wedding. What a spot to have it.”
Listen to the full interview here.
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Dallas, TX
New York Giants Fall to Dallas Cowboys, 27-20 on Thanksgiving
The New York Giants’ dreadful 2024 season continued with a 27-20 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. It was the Giants’ seventh-straight loss this season and their eighth-consecutive defeat at the hands of the Cowboys, dating back to the 2020 season.
The Cowboys benefitted from two Giants turnovers, including a pick-6 by DeMarvion Overshown in the second quarter he returned 23 yards to give the Cowboys a 13-7 lead, the Cowboys at that point never relinquishing the lead.
The other came following a Giants fumble in the second half, which the Cowboys converted into another touchdown to cap a six-play scoring drive.
The game started well, as the Giants held the Cowboys to just a field goal after their first possession. The Giants offense took the field with Drew Lock under center for the injured Tommy DeVito.
Lock was under pressure practically half the game, the Cowboys hitting him 14 times and sacking him six. The Giants also had just as many penalties in this game (13) as they did first downs (17), and their defense once again couldn’t stop the run if they tried, with missed tackles–at least 10 of them in the first half alone–an ongoing problem.
Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle captured his first career 100+ yard rushing game, going for 112 yards and one touchdown against the Giants, who saw three defensive linemen–D.J. Davidson (shoulder), Rakeem Nunez-Roches (stinger) and Dexter Lawrence II (elbow)–leave the game with injuries.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush finished 21 of 36 for 195 yards and one touchdown, his leading receiver being tight end Luke Schoonmaker (five catches on six pass targets).
Lock and running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr. scored the Giants’ two touchdowns, TRacy’s coming on a 1-yard run on the Giants’ opening drive to give them their first lead in a game since Week 6, and then Lock scoring a fourth-quarter garbage time touchdown on an 8-yard rush to make it 27-20 with 2:18 left.
The Giants got the rest of their scoring from kicker Graham Gano, who hit field goals of 46 and 47 yards.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers caught 13 pass targets for 69 yards, but he also dropped two balls. Rookie tight end Theo Johnson displayed toughness on a few of his receptions, hauling in five catches for 54 yards.
This is the Giants’ ninth time in the last 11 seasons that they’ve lost at least ten games. This loss eliminated them from playoff contention and currently slots them into the No.1 pick in April’s draft.
The Giants will have 10 days to prepare for their next matchup, a home meeting with the New Orleans Saints. They’re now the only team in the NFL to win a game at home still not this season, and they currently have the league’s longest losing streak.
Dallas, TX
Sources: Giants’ DeVito expected out vs. Dallas
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is expected to be out for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of his forearm injury and Drew Lock is expected to start in his place, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan.
DeVito is listed as questionable for the Thanksgiving Day game, but a source told ESPN on Wednesday that DeVito was considered a long shot to play.
He did not travel with the team to Dallas on Wednesday as he was undergoing further evaluation, the Giants said. The team, however, said it expected him to travel to Dallas later Wednesday.
DeVito took several big hits in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was making his first start of the season after the Giants released former starter Daniel Jones late last week.
The Giants turn to Lock after bypassing him following the benching of Jones for DeVito. Lock spent the first 10 weeks as the backup, with DeVito as the third string/emergency quarterback.
Lock has a short week and no real practices to get ready for the matchup of NFC East rivals. He also will be playing behind an offensive line without its starting tackles. Andrew Thomas (foot) is on injured reserve and Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) was ruled out Wednesday.
Dallas, TX
Colorado visits Dallas after shootout victory
Associated Press
Colorado Avalanche (13-10, in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (13-8, in the Central Division)
Dallas; Friday, 9 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Stars -140, Avalanche +116; over/under is 6.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche after the Avalanche took down the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in a shootout.
Dallas is 13-8 overall and 4-2-0 against the Central Division. The Stars have a 4-2-0 record in games they score at least one power-play goal.
Colorado is 13-10 overall and 2-3-0 against the Central Division. The Avalanche have a 2-5-0 record in games their opponents serve fewer penalty minutes.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Duchene has 12 goals and 14 assists for the Stars. Mason Marchment has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
Cale Makar has eight goals and 22 assists for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has eight goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 6-4-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging three goals, 4.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.
INJURIES: Stars: None listed.
Avalanche: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
-
Science1 week ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Health6 days ago
Holiday gatherings can lead to stress eating: Try these 5 tips to control it
-
Health3 days ago
CheekyMD Offers Needle-Free GLP-1s | Woman's World
-
Science3 days ago
Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it's business as usual in California dairy country
-
Technology2 days ago
Lost access? Here’s how to reclaim your Facebook account
-
Science1 week ago
Alameda County child believed to be latest case of bird flu; source unknown
-
Sports1 week ago
Behind Comcast's big TV deal: a bleak picture for once mighty cable industry
-
Entertainment1 day ago
Review: A tense household becomes a metaphor for Iran's divisions in 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig'