Welcome to another edition of the Texas Stars Mailbag, which now features a more visual element.
Thanks to @chillyw’s suggestion on Twitter, we’re adding a weekly film study. This week we’ll look at the three goals Jack Campbell allowed in his season debut on Wednesday.
Goal 1: Joey Hishon, 4:20 of the first period.
This goal happens because Campbell is already set in a butterfly before the shot comes. He’s playing the percentages and taking away the bottom of the net in case Andrew Agozzino fires this shot from the grouping by the face-off dot.
Here Agozzino fires the shot and Campbell has already set his weight on his left pad. His foot isn’t on the ice and he doesn’t have the ability to push across in case of a deflection.
The deflection happens and Campbell has to scramble to his right, but Hishon has ample time to put the puck in the net.
Goal 2: Andrew Agozzino, 0:24 third period.
This goal starts when Agozzino is able to sneak down the left side uncovered. The puck carrier Maxim Noreau is blatantly looking to pass, which should send a message to Stephen Johns and Esa Lindell to take away the cross-ice pass.
The defensemen fail to take away the pass here. That’s a combination of being slightly out of position and Johns simply missing the puck when he reached to poke away the pass.
This goal isn’t Campbell’s fault, but he is already in a butterfly and is reacting like Noreau was going to shoot. That puts him in a bad position when the pass reaches Agozzino.
Since Campbell was already down, he wasn’t able to effectively push across. It would have been a difficult save either way, but had he stayed up during the pass he could have slid across and made the save.
Goal 3: Nikita Zadarov, 4:22 third period
Campbell is doing the right thing in this situation. You can see him looking around the screen on the top of the crease and has to find his vision through a maize of bodies, it doesn’t help that a pair of his defenders go for the shot block and miss.
Well-placed slap shot by Zadarov through traffic, Campbell doesn’t have much of a chance here. Correct thought by players laying out to block the shot, but when you miss on the shot block, it can screen the goalie.
Overall, Campbell will likely want the first goal back and could have made a better play on the second even though it wasn’t his fault.
It was a good start for Campell in the 6-3 victory. It will be interesting to see how he improves this Saturday against the Stockton Heat.
Now, let’s dive into the mailbag:
@seanshapiro Mailbag Q: Thoughts on the 68 vs 76 game schedule scenario?? Feels like "Huh?" every time I look at the standings this year.
— Michael Weigand (@lakerboy_21) November 10, 2015
As someone who makes his living writing, I hate it. I suck at math and every game now requires a calculator to figure out the impact on the standings.
This is what I have figured out though: in order for Texas and San Antonio to take advantage of the extra game, they’ll have to pick up at least 12 of 16 potential points. That roughly equates to a 6-2 record, or some other combination of overtime losses and victories.
As league, the AHL really needs to examine this going forward. If five teams are allowed to play by different standings rules, what’s stopping other teams from asking for other rule exceptions?
@seanshapiro Q for the mailbag – what is the DOPS equivalent/procedure in the AHL? Anything get an automatic review etc?
— SL (@Dubh_Artach) November 8, 2015
Update: 8:29 p.m., Nov. 12, 2015
Certain infractions — notably those for checking to the head and all match penalties — are automatically reviewed by the league.
Teams have 24 hours to submit a request for supplemental discipline. If an incident occurs on a Saturday night, we may not necessarily be informed of a request until Sunday evening. Factor in the time it takes to collect all available video (including angles that may be independent of the AHL Live feed) and then conduct the actual review, and the whole process usually takes a couple of days to complete.
This can lead to somewhat awkward situations. For example, Patrick Bordeleau played this past Sunday against the Chicago Wolves after his boarding incident took place on Saturday.
The tape wasn’t reviewed until Monday and the suspension wasn’t passed down until Tuesday.
@seanshapiro Why hasn't Bordeleau been suspended for what he did Nov 7th?
— Doug Schwanke (@dschwanke) November 10, 2015
Obviously this Tweet came in before the suspension was passed down. And we just talked about the suspension process.
But, let’s break down the merit of the three-game suspension Bordeleau received.
Personally, I would have given him four games, but I’m content with the three-game hiatus.
One week earlier the Milwaukee Admiral’s Vladislav Kamenev was suspended two games for boarding. Using that as a baseline, Bordeleau should have gotten at least two games for the hit on Mattias Backman — which caused a concussion.
The additional game was added for the second hit against Jason Dickinson, which came 16 seconds after his first infraction and during the delayed penalty. I would have given an additional two games for that hit — which was more of an elbow combined with a charge.
@seanshapiro Who drops to Texas when McKenzie's leg heals? Curtis, or Radek Faksa? I'd give the NHL-staying advantage to the powerful Czech.
— Tom Dorsa (@TomDorsa) November 10, 2015
Curtis McKenzie will be back in Cedar Park before Radek Faksa. And once McKenzie is healthy I expect him to be immediately assigned back to Texas.
Faksa, on the other hand, has played very well and could force the Stars brass to get creative and keep him on the roster when other injured forwards Travis Moen and Patrick Eaves return.
@seanshapiro The Stars should keep Campbell. A lot of goalies don't develop as quick as everyone thinks and he will be great! Thoughts?
— Daniel Teasdale (@Teasdale_Daniel) November 10, 2015
Jack Campbell is currently on a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars and has to prove he belongs with the organization.
Personally, I’d like to see Campbell succeed — he’s a genuinely good person and real pleasant to interact with.
But, can he prove he’s the future for the Dallas Stars? This season is going to determine that. If Campbell can stay calm, poised and healthy, he has the tools to succeed. But, if he gets lost in his own head or can’t control his approach consistently, it’ll be time to move on.
And, yes, I know I kind of dodged the question. But, I think we’ll have a much clearer answer by the end of the month.
@seanshapiro 1 month from now, who is the #1 Goaltender for #txstars?
— Mark Harrill (@atxstranger) November 10, 2015
It’s going to be Jack Campbell.
And if it’s not Campbell, that would likely signal the end of his tenure in the Dallas organization.
Wrong side of the red line 