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The owner was in the house Saturday night.

Bringing his family in for a weekend game, Tom Gaglardi was inside American Airlines Center for the ugliness that was the Chicago Blackhawks' 8-1 rout of the Dallas Stars.

Making matters worse was the large number of Blackhawks fans in attendance. What kind of owner wants to see that scene in his own building?

The Stars organization is currently at a crossroads. Saturday night's humbling defeat leaves them 12th in the Western Conference and last in the Pacific Division. Is a wakeup call or a shakeup needed?

These days you may not have figured for a Stars win over the Blackhawks, but you'd at least expect an effort. When you lose 8-1 there are no silver linings. Jamie Benn put it right afterward, saying, "We need to do something within this room to change that. It's an unacceptable effort tonight."

But does it go beyond the Stars' dressing room?

This is how they celebrate in Calgary.

No. 1 Star: Curtis Glencross, Calgary Flames

All three third period goals scored by the Flames in their 6-3 win over the Nashville Predators were put home by Glencross for his second career NHL hat trick.

No. 2 Star: Ilya Bryzgalov, Philadelphia Flyers

Matt Read and Claude Giroux's goals in the shootout helped the Flyers avoid a home-and-home sweep at the hands of the New Jersey Devils with a 2-1 victory. Bryzgalov made 28 saves for his 13th win of the season and second in three starts.

No. 3 Star: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings scored twice in the third period to even up with the Edmonton Oilers and Datsyuk scored this beauty to cap off the 3-2 comeback victory in overtime:

Getty ImagesThe Phoenix Coyotes may not know where their future will take them, but it will definitely include defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The 21-year old blueliner inked a six-year extension on Friday worth $33 million, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

From the Coyotes:

"Oliver is an exceptional young player who will continue to improve as he matures,” [GM Don ] Maloney said. “He is an important part of our future and we are pleased to have agreed on a long term contract.”

Ekman-Larsson was scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer. He'll turn 22 in July, so with the extension kicking in next season the team bought up two of his UFA years.

Maloney told the Arizona Republic earlier this week, “We’ll pay on performance. We have no problem. But we won’t pay on potential. In Oliver’s case, he’s having a terrific season. He’s somebody we expect to sign at some point and hopefully for a long time.”

[Also: Bettman: New NHL divisions will have ‘sensible geographic designations’ for names]

Had the Coyotes paid on potential it would have been an even richer contract. And looking on CapGeek at the defensemen in the $5.5 million cap hit territory of Ekman-Larsson's, the Coyotes got a steal, even if they controlled his rights as a soon-to-be RFA.

Through 27 games, Ekman-Larsson is averaging 25:07 of ice and is tied for sixth in scoring among defensemen with 17 points. He's one point behind Mikkel Boedker as leading scorer for Phoenix.

Last season, Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson signed his extension a day before he won the Norris Trophy. Now that he has his extension out of the way, will Ekman-Larsson's season end the same way Karlsson's did?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Getty ImagesPreview: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. ET. The Flyers need to win this otherwise they will have been swept in this home-and-home with the Devils and, according to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, they're done. Five points out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia got a talking to from GM Paul Holmgren, hockey stick in hand. Will it work? New Jersey is going with the same lineup that beat the Flyers on Wednesday night 5-2.

Preview: Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m. ET. Miikka Kiprusoff was strong on Wednesday in a win over Detroit and he'll be back in net again tonight to win their second in a row. The Predators are coming off a 7-4 loss Thursday night to Vancouver. They didn't skate this morning, so it's unknown if Barry Trotz will make any lineup changes.

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers, 9:30 p.m. ET. The Red Wings have lost three in a row and will look to snap their slide against an Oilers side who have won two in a row and sit four points behind Detroit for ninth in the Western Conference. Detroit's top scorers are struggling. As the Free Press notes, Pavel Datysuk (11 games), Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner (8 games) are looking to get back on the goal sheet. Edmonton returns home after a 9-day road trip, hoping to turn around their 4-4-2 record at Rexall Place.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Goalie Post.

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

@BBreseman

• Neat t-shirt placement by the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of tonight's game against the Islanders.

• Jimmy Howard for $35 million over 5-6 years? Sounds like the Red Wings and their goaltender are getting close to a new pact. [MLive]

• The parent company that owns the Los Angeles Kings, AEG, has been pulled off the auction block and president and CEO Tim Leiweke is moving on. [Wall Street Journal]

• Dean Lombardi compared Jeff Carter to gunslinger Josey Wales. Carter's response? "I had no idea who it was." [LA Times]

• What's helped the Kings be so good? Dominant puck possession. [Broadstreet Hockey]

• Kris Letang is Kobe Bryant. Mike Colligan explains. [The Hockey Writers]

• Jason Chimera scored 20 goals last year. This season he has zero. Wha happened? [Japers' Rink]

• Taking advantage of a contract year: Oliver Ekman-Larsson edition. Will it also end with a Norris Trophy? [Arizona Republic]

You might have been driving down I-690 East in Syracuse last September and spotted an attractive-looking woman lying on top of a hockey net tempting you to buy tickets to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. (Or maybe you only noticed the woman, but whatever.)

Crunch

That might get your attention, right? That was the goal and it worked for the Crunch. Team owner Howard Dolgon told the Post-Standard at the time, “A lot of great things are coming to Syracuse from Tampa. When you do billboards, you want to do things that will attract attention to your brand. This is going to get people’s attention.”

An attractive woman works. But what about a fully-dressed hockey player striking a seductive post? Well, that'd work too, and that's just what the Crunch have done for their latest billboard promoting ticket sales.

Gone is Carol Grow. Enter Crunch forward Eric Neilson as you drive up 690 West in Syracuse.

"It was a challenge to get the right face you needed for the shot,'' Neilson told the Post-Standard's Lindsay Kramer last month. "There's a lot to it. By the end of it, I got a little better.''

Maybe the lack of bare legs of a woman on a billboard won't immediately catch your eye, but if you happen to be looking around on 690 West and see Neilson attempting his best Tawny Kitaen-Whitesnake video pose, show the Crunch some love and buy a few tickets.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils

A three-goal first period doomed the Philadelphia Flyers as the Devils won 5-2, their third win in four games. Henrique scored one of those opening period goals, assisted on Patrik Elias' fourth and added a second on the power play early in the third period.

No. 2 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames

A three-goal third period broke a 2-2 tie as the Flames won their fifth straight at the Saddledome with a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Kiprusoff made 36 saves for only his third win since Jan. 26.

No. 3 Star: Lars Eller, Montreal Canadiens

After blowing a 3-1 second period lead, the Canadiens held off an Ottawa Senators comeback to win 4-3 after a shootout. Eller opened the scoring with his fourth of the season in the first period and then tallied the game-deciding goal in the shootout as the Habs won their fourth straight.

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Getty ImagesPreview: Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET Coming off a shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday, the Senators will go back to Robin Lehner between the pipes for the third straight game. Montreal is looking for their fourth straight win. The home team has won each of the three meetings between these teams this season.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils, 7:30 p.m. ET Ilya Bryzgalov said on Tuesday that if the Flyers didn't win their two games against the Devils this week, the team was "done". He'll be in net to prevent that from happening as the Devils try to turn around their recent struggles since Martin Brodeur went on injured reserve. New Jersey has lost seven of nine during that time with two rookies, Keith Kinkaid and Jeff Frazee, making their NHL debuts coming in relief of Johan Hedberg.

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m. ET Thanks to the flu, Jonas Gustavsson will be in net replacing Jimmy Howard tonight. Defenseman Ian White will not play tonight either due to "personal reasons". Returning for the Red Wings will be forward Valtteri Filppula. Aside from winning, Calgary will also look to continue Detroit's road power play woes, having not scored on a man advantage in 36 attempts away from Joe Louis Arena.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Goalie Post.

Evening Reading

• Jake Gardiner on his agent Tweeting "#FreeJakeGardiner" on Tuesday night: "It's just my agent's thoughts and it's his choice to tweet that. There are always distractions, especially in Toronto. Sometimes people can blow things out of proportion (but) I don't think he meant anything by it and I'm not going to let that distract me." [TSN]

• Great read by Scott Burnside on Rich Clune's battle with alcoholism. [ESPN]

• Despite what John Buccigross may have Tweeted this morning, Blake Geoffrion is not retiring just yet. He is considering it, however. [Tennessean]

• The man who hit Geoffrion, J.P. Cote of the Syracuse Crunch, speaks. [Post-Standard]

• How big is the upcoming road trip for the New York Islanders? [Islanders Point Blank]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Brad on the "Free Jake Gardiner" movement:

Bad idea by the agent. Now, even if they were going to bring him up, they will reconsider because they don't want to be seen as caving to the agent and player. Komisarek and Liles are in the press box, and Connoly is in the minors. If you cave to this agent, how long before those guys start chirping.

Bold prediction: The Flyers stave off being "done" as Ilya Bryzgalov posts a 3-0 shutout.