As a kid my family went on road trips nearly every year. I've seen Mt. Rushmore, the Gateway Arch, the Mall of America, Graceland, and Niagara Falls. Each trip was full of interesting places and events. People go on road trips because they are fun. But then again I've never taken a road trip through Calgary and Phoenix.
Someone clearly forgot to tell the Caps that road trips are supposed to be fun and exciting, because the last 2 games I've seen have been dull and disappointing, kind of like having to stop for a few hours at a stamp museum. Tonight they face off against Dallas looking to inject some life into a road trip where they've shown very little of it.
The Caps headed out west averaging 4 goals a game, but have managed on a single tally in each of their last 2 games, which were both 2-1 losses. On the plus side, Stars netminder Marty Turco is allowing just over 4 goals a game and has an abysmal save percentage of .848. If there was any more perfect of an opportunity for the Caps to get out of the rut they're in. Looking at The Peerless' breakdown of the Stars' play so far, you almost wonder if you're looking at the same team.
This is not the typical performance of a club that has averaged 105 standings points a year over the last eleven years, and that has had fewer than 100 points in only three of those seasons. The Stars have been consistently poor through games, getting out scored in each of the first (9-7), second (12-9), and third (10-7) periods through eight games this year. In three home games, the Stars have both scored and allowed 14 goals and have both scored and allowed three power play goals. Unlike the Stars we
