Blue Notes

Just call me dazzled---and dumbfounded--- in Dallas.
If you had told me before last night's game that the Rangers would beat the Stars by three goals without a single score from Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan or red-hot Martin Straka, I would've made a Texas-sized wager.
Lucky me.
Before the game, in a discussion with broadcaster Dave Maloney, I mentioned that unless Stars goaltender Mike Smith was rusty, the Rangers would probably lose.
"Rusty" turned out to be a polite----if accurate----phrase.
Smith, playing his eighth game of the season, was Swiss cheese, allowing three costly, bad goals---two on Matt Cullen shots and one by Karel---yes, that Karel---Rachunek, who hadn't scored since playing in Russia last season. Rachunek, who was Swiss cheese defensively, also had a second goal---shorthanded no less!
Go figure.
Henrik Lundqvist on the other hand, was superb. He ignored all the pre-game hoopla about playing professionally for the first time against twin brother Joel, younger by 40 minutes, and flashed the stellar form of his rookie season---although he said he was acutely aware of every second that his brother was on the ice.
He made uncanny stops on Sergei Zubov (8 shots), Jere Lehtinen (6) and Eric Lindros (4) and Philippe Boucher (5) among others.
The Stars overwhelmed the Rangers in the first and second periods, yet managed a win due to Smith's blunders. Blame this one on coach Dave Tippett, who tapped Smith over No. 1 keeper Marty Turco in an odd strategic decision. That's the dumbfounded part. Wasn't this game a biggie for the Stars?
Smith told me before the game that he had only seen highlights of the Rangers before coming to American Airlines Center early yesterday morning to watch video.
Well, that's it from this building... more ramblings tomorrow.
Stay tuned...