Two-For-Two With Yellow

I always like it when players do something to make their looks unique in the world of sports. While I'm not suggesting not falling into form when it comes to wearing the team uniform, hockey players rarely get to personalize their looks unless one is a goaltender. The picture to the left was taken five days ago, however, when the Dallas Stars honoured long-time Star Jere Lehtinen as they retired his jersey. Lehtinen, as you'll see below, wore yellow skate laces when he played, so the current team honoured him by donning his iconic look against the Calgary Flames on November 24.

Lehtinen, seen to the right wearing his bright yellow laces, was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars 88th overall in 1992, and played his entire fifteen-year career with the Minnesota/Dallas franchise. There are images of him wearing white laces, but his time in Dallas was capped off by having the veteran Finnish player wear yellow laces. There haven't been many players who have worn laces other than white in the NHL, it's nice to see that Lehtinen, who always seemed to shy away from the spotlight, is being recognized for something that made him stand out.

So why is this important, you ask? Well, the Dallas Stars skated with the yellow laces on Friday at home against the Calgary Flames, and they won the game 6-4 to move to 12-10-4 on the season. Tyler Seguin had an outstanding night in registering the hat trick for half his team's offence, scoring the game-winning goal, and adding an empty-netter. Alexander Radulov had a goal and an assist, Antoine Roussel and Gemel Smith added singles, and Ben Bishop recorded the 34-save win.

Ok, so there's nothing special there, right? Well, the Vegas Golden Knights welcomed the Dallas Stars to Sin City last night. Vegas is neck-and-neck with the Los Angeles Kings for the Pacific Division lead, so they're no pushovers as they are 9-1-0 at home. With the Stars still wearing the yellow laces, let's go to the video!

Radek Faksa records the natural hat trick in the middle frame, Ben Bishop made 34 saves (again) in recording the shutout, and the Dallas Stars won 3-0. That's two wins with the "Lehtinen Laces" and you know how superstitious NHL players can be, right? I suspect we'll see these yellow laces until they lose.

The Dallas Stars: invincible with yellow laces? We shall see!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!