00:00It is our annual rite of passage. He busts our balls for it, justifiably so. I think he may do
00:06it again as the time is set for Game 1 tomorrow.
00:09Stars, Wild, 4.30 at the AAC. And joining us here on Sean and RJ is the great Brett Severin
00:17here on DFW Sports Station.
00:20Good morning, Seve. Happy anniversary.
00:22Oh, yeah. You guys know there's 82 games during a regular season, right?
00:27That's 84, right?
00:29Jeez. Well, yeah.
00:32You were busy.
00:32I'm not busting your balls. Oh, I'm busy.
00:35Yeah, we put in weekly requests.
00:37Oh, well, my PR person never said anything about it.
00:44Well, we knew you were going to crack our heads together. It's much deserved.
00:47But we had to get you on first and foremost before this kicks off tomorrow.
00:52Seve, how different is this Stars team right now versus the one that started the playoffs last year?
01:01Right from the get-go in training camp, Glenn Gullitson, the new coach for the Stars, he wanted to implement
01:07a process where everybody elevates their game by 1%.
01:11So if you've been following the Stars, that's been the mantra right from the beginning.
01:15And what that means is if it's a face-off, if it's a battle along the boards, goal scoring, fighting
01:22for the puck, power play, penalty kill, if everybody steps up just 1%, it's going to elevate the entire team.
01:30And they've really put a focus on physical play and battling.
01:34They want to make sure, they did want to make sure throughout the 82 games that you did not talk
01:39to me, that the Stars were going to be a little bit more stronger.
01:44The Stars are going to be a little bit more stronger as they head into playoffs and be a little
01:48bit more battle-ready, if you will.
01:50And we've seen that.
01:51I think everybody from Jason Roberts to Dwight Johnston, they've played a little bit more meteor game, I think, overall.
01:58And following on the lines of Mikko Rantanen, who's a big, strong body that does that game in, game out,
02:04I think that's going to help the Stars.
02:05So you think they've answered that physicality question that's been there attached to them a little bit?
02:11Yeah.
02:11Well, here's what Minnesota, the last game they came into town, they really tried to take it to the Stars
02:17physically.
02:18And throughout the series, I think during the series this season, when you look at just hits alone,
02:25the Minnesota Wilds were much stronger in that area of going out and trying to lay the body.
02:31So that's going to be a mindset for them when they come into the game, game one.
02:36They want to try to wear down the Stars because, again, that's kind of been the MO of this team.
02:40Maybe not soft, but just a team that maybe can't battle the way they have to.
02:45And Golsan, right from the get-go, has said, yeah, we're not going to be a team that gets pushed
02:49around.
02:50And whether you're talking about high danger areas in front of the net or along the boards,
02:54they have to be stronger because Minnesota is going to come in and try to get the edge in that
02:59area.
03:01Seve, how healthy is Miro going to be?
03:03And how different is this team without Hintz in the lineup?
03:09So, quite honestly, I think, not that it gets Hintz, but I think the Stars, with the lineup that they
03:15have,
03:16can manage without him.
03:18You know, Johnson down the middle, Matt Duchesne, Justin Ritschkovian, who the young rookies come in,
03:23done a great job, Radek Faxa.
03:25So we have some big bodies down the middle of the ice.
03:27Yes, would it be great to have him?
03:28Absolutely.
03:29But if you're missing Miro Haskinen, that is a big one.
03:33Because on the other side of it, for the Minnesota Wild, they have this guy named Quinn Hughes.
03:38You guys remember this guy from some sort of Olympics?
03:41Yeah, whatever.
03:42Yeah, whatever.
03:43I don't want to hear it.
03:44He beat us Canadians, so I think we should just run him every time.
03:48But he is an elite puck-moving defenseman, right?
03:51He has changed the way this Minnesota Wild team comes out of their zone.
03:55So on the other side of the ledger for the Dallas Stars, they need Miro because that's what he does.
04:00He plays big minutes all across the ice, five-on-five, penalty kill.
04:05He is the guy that you want to have the puck and get it out of your zone.
04:08And he does that effectively game in and game out.
04:10Because Quinn Hughes on the other side of it, not only that, he's got 53 points,
04:15so he's one of the top-tiered defensemen for scoring offensively.
04:19So Stars are going to have to slow him down.
04:20And with Miro out of the lineup, I think the Stars would spend a little bit too much time in
04:24their own zone
04:26if he's not able to play game one.
04:29All right, you mentioned Quinn.
04:30Brent Severin here joining us on 105 Through the Fan.
04:33Boldy and Kaprizov, are they all healthy?
04:35And who's the most dangerous of the three?
04:38Yeah, Kirill Kaprizov is probably the most dangerous man.
04:41He is all over the ice for sure.
04:44And, of course, Quinn Hughes coming up through the middle of the ice will be a bear.
04:47The biggest thing that the Stars talked about as well from the beginning of the season is rush chances.
04:52That's chances from all the way from Minnesota's end, kind of unabated through the neutral zone,
04:58and then attacking and getting shots on goal.
05:00That's where the Stars put their emphasis on defending.
05:04And one of the best at doing that is Quinn Hughes.
05:07And then also he's feeding Kaprizov.
05:09And you talk about Matt Boldy.
05:11Matt Boldy has got 42 goals this season.
05:14He's a young player.
05:15He's kind of along the lines of Jason, excuse me, Johnston.
05:20So he's only 25 years old.
05:22And, man, he has really lit up the goal scoring.
05:25He went from 27 goals last year to 42 this year.
05:28So he's kind of a dark horse that Stars fans have not heard about.
05:33So Matt Boldy, Kaprizov, Zuccarella, Quinn Hughes,
05:36these are guys that you're going to really have to pay attention to in the lineup.
05:40So I'm really looking forward.
05:41When you look around the National Hockey League and you look at the other series,
05:44I think this could be and will be one of the best.
05:47I'm anxious to see this.
05:49Minnesota's going to put up a heck of a fight.
05:51I want to see if all this work that the Stars have done throughout the year
05:54is going to come to fruition and they're able to execute properly.
05:57Seve, a lot of talk and some complaints about the format.
06:01Is this matchup too early?
06:03How do you feel about them trying to, you know,
06:05pour some fire on some of these rivalries or division matchups?
06:10Yeah, no.
06:11I think when you talk to everybody, every fan, you know,
06:14I think Gary Bettman, the commissioner, he's the only guy that really wants this.
06:18And what he wants is to have that premier matchup in the first round for TV
06:22to get it more exciting, right?
06:24And what that really hurts, though, when you have the Stars and the Wild
06:27who have worked so hard during the season to be pitted against each other
06:31and then gassed, you know, one of them is going to be gone.
06:34And that's wrong.
06:35All of us feel the same way.
06:37So you guys are right on the money with that one.
06:39And there's other – yeah, we all think it's got to be changed,
06:42but we don't have a real say in it.
06:44It's way above my pay grade.
06:46Seve, you know, I was taking a look at some of the stuff that the Wild have been saying
06:50over there, you know, leading up to this series so far.
06:53And one of the things they talked about is how good Dallas has been in the first period
06:56at kind of shutting things down all season
06:57and how it's going to be important for them to get off to fast starts.
07:01Is this a series where, like, whoever wins the first period consistently
07:05is going to be – you feel like is going to win this series?
07:09It's part of it.
07:10In the National Hockey League, it's always the set-up period, right?
07:13For the Dallas Stars, though, they've been one of the best teams
07:16when you're down and coming back.
07:18They're excellent at it.
07:19And because of the strong defensive capabilities they have
07:22and the offensive ability that they have that they can generate if need be
07:27basically through the power play as well,
07:29so, yeah, it's going to be vital.
07:31We're going to see as the series wears on how hard it is to come back
07:34because in the playoffs it's much different.
07:36Everybody's digging in a little bit more.
07:37But the Stars have been good at coming back.
07:40They are fourth best in the National Hockey League
07:43when you look at teams coming back.
07:45But you don't want to get down initially.
07:47So, yeah, it's something.
07:48I like that you brought that up because it's something that we always watch
07:51in first periods in the National Hockey League.
07:53Who can get established?
07:54Who can get to their game first?
07:56And then from there hopefully go on and close out games.
07:58But this is going to be tight.
08:00This is going to be one goal in games.
08:01When you look at the season series, each of the teams had 13 goals.
08:06There was two games by one goal,
08:10and then there was two games where the team won five to two.
08:13So pretty much the same when they came in.
08:16And it's going to be a homer series.
08:18The Stars have really worked hard to get home ice advantage.
08:20And each team this season has won on home ice.
08:24So we're going to see if that becomes a factor.
08:25So if you're going to go to the game, we've got to hear you.
08:29Do you guys get to go to the games?
08:31Yeah, we do.
08:33Do you?
08:34All right.
08:35Well, good.
08:35Well, you have to come by and say hi one day.
08:37I'm up in the perch.
08:38I'm way up in the perch.
08:39Come see me.
08:39Come say hi.
08:40You have ropes around you.
08:42We can't get to you.
08:42I've tried.
08:43Can't get to you.
08:44Hollywood.
08:44And two bodyguards, too, which are real tough.
08:48Yeah, you may not be able to get past the young lady who's about 4-2.
08:53Oh, you're going to do it.
08:56Fred Severn joining us here to preview Stars Wild here on 105.3 The Fan.
09:00One of the very rare complaints, because it was another 50-win season, was about Ottinger.
09:07And some Stars fans would say, that's our weakness.
09:10And it would go up and down throughout the year.
09:13Goalie is going to be what costs us.
09:15Where do you stand on Jake Ottinger today and heading into this thing?
09:19Yeah, it's really, that's, it's probably the biggest thing.
09:23It's a good goaltending overall, right?
09:25But when you look at it, over the past five seasons, 30-plus wins, right?
09:29Only Connor Halibach and Andre Vasilevsky have more wins over that span.
09:34So he is an elite goaltender.
09:36But yes, every goaltender has weaknesses.
09:39So he's got to be able to elevate his game.
09:42He's got to be able to make key saves.
09:44And he can't let any softies in.
09:46And that's just the way playoffs end.
09:49And if you go all the way back to last season, remember, he was yanked in the last game.
09:54DeBoer had some comments from him.
09:55So we're going to see what his mindset is.
09:58Do you know what I mean?
09:59He's got to be mentally ready to go.
10:02Because he took a beating last year.
10:03He really did.
10:04And he knows that we're all thinking of it.
10:07He's put the pressure on himself.
10:09As, like, that's why you never want to play goaltender.
10:11If it's the craziest position, you're always the last line of defense.
10:14You're the one who's going to take the abuse and wins or losses.
10:16Well, losses for sure.
10:17Not so much wins a lot of times.
10:19So he is the most significant impact player for the Dallas Stars.
10:23And he's going to have to bring his game.
10:25So what he's done in the past no longer matters.
10:28Moving forward, he has to make those key saves.
10:32And for two teams that have great power plays the way both these teams do,
10:35goaltending is going to be a factor on the penalty kill.
10:37So, like I said, there's so many storylines in this one.
10:41It's going to be a great series, guys.
10:42And get out of your perch and come on down and watch the game, you two.
10:46Sevi, you know, you mentioned Pete DeBoer there.
10:49And obviously they had the three straight conference finals appearances
10:52as they head into this postseason.
10:55Glenn Gullitson being here meant to kind of take them up to another level.
10:59What would you say, reflecting on the previous three years
11:02and the previous three teams, how this team is functionally different
11:05and where they're looking for a Gullitson advantage into the postseason?
11:09Yeah, that's a great question because the fact is it's experience.
11:14I was very fortunate to be around this 98-99 Stanley Cup winning team.
11:18And they got – oh, thank you.
11:23You're the only one who's ever picked up on that.
11:25No one hears it.
11:26No one hears it.
11:28So the thing is experience drives teams.
11:34And one of the biggest things about the Dallas Stars team
11:36and that when they won the Cup is their ability to overcome adversity.
11:41No matter what the situation, no matter how difficult, up, down, even, tied,
11:47late in the third, whatever it was, they were able to clamp down.
11:51And it was great just to sit there and watch these guys come together.
11:55It just – that team just started to slowly, right from the beginning of the year,
11:59get tighter and tighter and stronger and meaner and tougher.
12:04And then when they hit the playoffs, it's this big, massive ball of experience,
12:09hard work, dedication, execution.
12:13And whatever happened, these guys were ready to adjust.
12:16And it's amazing how the leaders stepped up in the room,
12:19how everybody was elevated from the top guys to the bottom.
12:22And it's squeezed together.
12:23And it was such a tight group.
12:25And that's the biggest thing.
12:27If the Stars – well, anybody who wins the Stanley Cup has to do that.
12:30You've seen the Florida Panthers over the past couple years do that.
12:33And that involves a lot.
12:35So when you look at teams and what they do and how they start,
12:39it really doesn't matter because a team like the L.A. Kings,
12:41who are last now and they're going to play the Colorado Avalanche,
12:44if they start to do that as they did several years ago when they won the Cup,
12:49you never know where they could end up.
12:50So the Stars have the talent, they have the coaching,
12:54they hopefully will have the goaltending,
12:56they have everything they need to make a strong run.
12:59But now it's up to them to be able to put that together.
13:02Because if it doesn't happen, it just doesn't happen.
13:05It is a thing of beauty and only one team gets to do it every single year.
13:10What's your pick?
13:11There you go.
13:11That's my speech.
13:13What about your pick?
13:14Excuse me?
13:15Besides the Dallas Stars?
13:19When's the last time you picked against them?
13:23I think I started broadcasting.
13:25Well, I started here in 1998.
13:26So that was the last time I picked against them.
13:29There you go.
13:29There he is.
13:30Our annual.
13:32I know, soft.
13:33Soft as Charmin.
13:35Brent Severn joining us here as he does every year.
13:39We'll talk to you next year.
13:41You're the best.
13:43You guys warm my heart.
13:45Thank you very much.
13:46You're the man.
13:47Keep your phone on, please.
13:48We need you.
13:49Oh, whatever.
13:50Whatever.
13:51Enjoy the games, guys.
13:52Enjoy the games.
13:53Go see them and check out the coverage as well.
13:55The great Brent Severn here on DFW Sports Station 105.3 The Fan.
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