That is Stars-Sharks, a pairing that takes rivalry to the nasty level. It is time to dive back into the sludge. The Stars open the Western Conference semifinal series against San Jose on Friday night at Reunion Arena. It will be throwback hockey in that there is real animosity between the teams. The bitterness that naturally arises when two physical teams play six regular-season games.
Grudges build up with the bruises.
The Stars averaged 16.5 penalty minutes per game against San Jose and 12.2 minutes in all other games. For San Jose, it was business as usual. The teams played for the first time in three months on March 19. Owen Nolan took verbal shots at Stars' defenseman Darryl Sydor after a roughing call. Nolan accused Sydor of taking a dive.