Defenseman Goligoski to Injured Reserve

HOCKEYTALK NEWS UPDATE by Jason Reed

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 -- Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski is on injured reserve with a broken thumb suffered in a game against the team that traded him just nine months ago.  The Penguins were sorry to see a popular teammate go in the 26-year-old American defenseman, but they picked up James Neal, a forward who has shouldered a lot of the load while Sidney Crosby recovers from his latest concussion.  Also going to Pittsburgh was defenseman Matt Niskaken.

Goligoski has contributed to his new team this young season both on the score sheet and off.  He’s second among Dallas blueliners in scoring, at 2-4-6.  At 5-11 and 185, he’s on the small side for NHL defenseman, but he knows how to get the job done.  He leads all Stars players in power play time (3:09 per game) and is averaging 21:09 per game overall.  With only two total PIM in 15 games played, Goligoski knows how to play the game without hurting the team.

Neal’s points will surely be missed, but with players like Jamie Benn (5-14-19, +6), Loui Eriksson (9-8-17, +9), and Sheldon Souray (4-9-13, +8), they’ve proven the trade worked out just fine for the Stars as well.  Add goalie Kari Lehtonen’s 11 wins, his .925 save percentage and his 2.47 G.A.A. and you can see why Dallas is 11-6-0 and atop the Pacific Division.

With the Stars, Neal enjoyed success in his first season (27-28-55), but was traded to the Penguins in his second season.  Neal is having a career year so far, with 20 points in 18 games, he’s on pace to score 91 points in 82 games for a Pittsburgh team who sure appreciates his scoring.

Dallas has some tough games ahead with Phoenix (7-1-2 in their last 10), Edmonton (6-4), and Pacific Division rival San Jose (7-2-1) both home and away.  They also face teams currently not playing so well.  They go to Colorado (2-7-1) and face a team playing better on the road than at home, only to face them in Texas 10 days later.  They host Islanders (1-6-3), after first hosting two teams who could be great, or not so hit in Toronto and Ottawa, both 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.

How much will the loss of Goligoski affect the Stars?  Florida shut out the Stars Tuesday night 6-0 in Dallas.

--Jason Reed reports on the NHL for Hockeytalk.biz

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