Several of the Stars are making the most of their week away from the rink. Plus, the Oilers actually fired Peter Chiarelli, goaltending stories across the NHL, and more.

While a week without Dallas Stars hockey can be sad for fans, it’s worth remembering that the players are human too and have earned a well-deserved break.

Some players have decided to take full advantage of the week off, such as John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, and Valeri Nichushkin, who all flew south for the winter:

Klingberg, Lindell and Nichushkin hadn’t initially planned to take the trip to the Bahamas together but after some coincidental planning and conversations between their girlfriends, a group was formed including the three couples as well as a few other Swedish players around the NHL.

Not everyone will be enjoying some time in the sun, though. Count both Jasons — Spezza and Dickinson — among those unhappy about the break:

“I prefer to have those [off] days in the schedule,” Spezza said. “I’ve never been a guy to just kind of take time away. I’ve always been one that kind of uses the breaks to feel better going into the next stretch. ... “It’s also kind of a bad time where I’m trying to get back into game shape and all of a sudden, it’s ‘shut down and do nothing for a few days,’” Dickinson said. “You kind of lose that momentum, but at least everybody will be kind of in the same boat.”

You can read more from Saad Yousuf here.

Stars Stories

Hey, remember when bad goaltending might have been all that separated Dallas from being a potential Stanley Cup contender? Neither do I!

Speaking of Ben Bishop...

The Texas Stars are still in the playoff hunt, but they’ve been stuck in a rut with a four-game losing streak: [NHL]

Around the League

The Edmonton Oilers might trade Jesse Puljujarvi, but will the return be worth it?

Of course, that might change now that Peter Chiarelli is no longer GM for the Oilers:

While the Stars are feeling good about their goaltending duo, the San Jose Sharks netminders might be holding their team back: [The Hockey News]

I guess it’s goalie day. Here’s a good read on Robin Lehner and his success with the New York Islanders:

Second verse, same as the first: the Florida Panthers are hoping for another second-half surge to get them back into playoff contention. [NBC Sports]

Finally, could even more moves be on the way for the Carolina Hurricanes?