The Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in OT. The Dallas Stars now lead the series 3-0. Game 4 will take place Wednesday Night at 8pm CST in Dallas TX at the American Airlines Center.
GO STARS!!!!!!
from DallasStars.com
While the Dallas Stars have been erasing their recent playoff failures over the last couple of weeks, they’re also beginning to re-create some impressive past history.
Mike Modano snapped a third-period tie three minutes after Brad Richards‘ equalizer to help give the Stars a 5-2 come-from-behind win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night at HP Pavilion. The victory gave the Stars a 2-0 stranglehold in their Western Conference Semifinal series with the Sharks, with Game 3 set for Tuesday night at American Airlines Center (6:30, my27).
Niklas Hagman scored twice during Dallas’ four-goal third period explosion, Mike Ribeiro contributed a first period tally, and Richards added three assists for the Stars, who have now won eight of their past nine at the Shark Tank. Goalie Marty Turco made 29 scintillating saves — including 22 in the first two periods — as the Stars have now taken a commanding lead in this second-round set.
Interestingly, the last time Dallas was up two games in the second round was in 2000 when they had that advantage over these same Sharks. Two rounds later, the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight season.
“It’s huge to be up 2-0, big trip for us, but we need to carry the momentum home,” Modano said. “It’s a long way from over and we have to stay focused and hungry.”
The Stars were bolstered by the return of defenseman Sergei Zubov, who was playing for the first time in over three months after having surgery to repair a sports hernia. Zubov was part of a seven-man defensive corps on Sunday, and made it look like old times when he assisted on Modano’s winner.
With the puck in the right circle, Zubov quickly whipped a slick behind the back backhand pass to Modano, who was cruising into the high slot. The most prolific playoff goal scorer in franchise history didn’t waste the chance, potting a wrist shot for his 14th game-winning postseason goal just 3:39 into the third.
“The first half of the game was a little struggle,” Zubov said. “I got better as it went on and I’m obviously thrilled to get the win. For me, as long as I have the same support from the guys, like I did tonight, I’m going to be fine. I jumped on a loose puck and saw open ice on the other side, and fortunately, it got through and Mike made a great shot. It was probably the best period I’ve seen in a long time and we capitalized on our chances.”
Modano’s tally came after Richards tied the game at 2 just 32 seconds into the final frame with his second goal of the playoffs. After accepting a pass at the top of the right circle in his own end, San Jose forward Joe Pavelski slipped and subsequently lost the puck to Richards, who quickly took a wrist shot that fooled Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
“They got a lucky break,” Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. “Joe Pavelski lost an edge and they were in great position. A great player took advantage of a bad break.”
Hagman helped ice the game with his first goal of the postseason off Richards’ setup. Richards, the 2004 playoff MVP, sent a pass to the front of the San Jose net that went off Nabokov’s stick and right to Hagman, who promptly lifted the puck into the net for a 4-2 lead with just over six minutes left in regulation.
The Finnish forward then capped the scoring with an empty-net tally with 75 seconds to go.
It’s no surprise the Stars wrestled the game away from the Sharks in the pivotal third period. During the playoffs, Dallas has now scored 17 goals in the third and overtime while allowing Anaheim and San Jose a mere five combined.
“We did play a solid third period and kept coming after them,” Richards said. “A good sign of this team is that we can win a lot of different ways, and we did that in Games 1 and 2.”
The Stars also did it despite being shorthanded five times, including three straight Sharks man-advantage opportunities in the first period.
“It was a total team effort through all four lines,” Ribeiro said. “We battled and believed, stuck with our game plan and forechecked well. Marty was huge and he was our best penalty killer tonight. But there is a lot more to come and we have to keep focus.”
Pavelski and Milan Michalek scored for the Sharks, while Nabokov finished with 21 saves before being pulled with two minutes left in the game. Brian Boucher didn’t face a shot before he went off for the extra attacker.
“We clawed ourselves back in,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “In the third period we wanted to come out and push the envelope a little bit. We got a break early, on the early goal, and we kept pushing. I thought we pushed right to the end. We needed a strong period to win the game, and the guys came up with it.”
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From DallasStars.com
By now, hopefully, you know how this column goes.
Again, as much as I would like to argue with national prognosticators and pick a winner in the Stars’ second-round playoff series against San Jose, I prefer to just break down the matchups – hopefully with some semblance of accuracy – and let you deduce who should emerge victorious based on the information.
Just like we did in round one – even though some of the matchups didn’t turn out as we might have expected (who would have though a banged-up Stars blueline would clearly outshine Anaheim’s?)
Do I have an idea as to how I think the series will go?
You betcha.
But again, I’ll leave the predictions to ESPN.
FORWARDS
Wow.
Talk about strength on strength.
San Jose has Joe Thornton, possibly the best forward in the Western Conference.
Dallas has three centers who could potentially be top-line centers on any squad – depth unmatched by arguably anyone in the NHL.
San Jose has a former 50-goal scorer in Jonathan Cheechoo.
Dallas has a three-time Selke Trophy winner in Jere Lehtinen.
San Jose has a 500-goal scorer in Jeremy Roenick, who registered four points in the Game 7 victory against Calgary Tuesday.
Dallas has a 500-goal scorer in Mike Modano, who put up six points in the first-round win against Anaheim and 11 points in eight regular-season games against the Sharks this season.
San Jose has breakout youngsters Joe Pavelski and Ryan Clowe, who combined for 15 points in the first round. Dallas has a top-line duo of Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow, who registered 16 combined points against San Jose this season and 14 points in the opening round against the Ducks.
The difference maker? Could be Dallas’ second line, with 2004 Conn Smythe trophy winner Brad Richards, who seems to have found a finisher in Swedish linemate Loui Eriksson. Not only does Richards have skins on the wall from playoffs past, but he put up five points in the opening-round series against the Ducks and has helped Eriksson mature into a true scoring threat in a matter of six games. Compare that to San Jose’s second-line center, Patrick Marleau, who has put up great numbers in the past but had a disappointing regular-season.
And, don’t forget Stu Barnes and his 11 career playoff game-winners, including two in the opening round.
Very, very close matchup. The Sharks are top-heavy with Thornton, who has led the NHL in assists each of the last three seasons. But the Stars appear to be deeper, with more players capable of scoring that big goal when necessary.
ADVANTAGE: STARS
DEFENSE
The Sharks have improved in this area drastically in the last few seasons.
Coming out of the lockout, it was clearly the weakness of a team that had plenty of size and scoring potential up front. The emergence of Douglas Murray, who was plus-20 in this, his third NHL season, along with trade-deadline acquisitions of Craig Rivet (2007) and Brian Campbell (2008) have turned the Sharks blueline from an ugly duckling into a swan.
Matching that is a young Dallas defensive corps that has two things really working in its favor:
1: They played great, each and every one of them, and Stephane Robidas became a cult hero in Round One.
2: They might not be so young anymore, not if Sergei Zubov returns from injury and is at 100 percent.
Simply put, Zubov is one of the top three defensemen in the world, and when completely healthy, he changes games. His 30+ minutes each night are valuable minutes, played in every situation, and he single-handedly takes pressure off every other guy in the Dallas blueline. San Jose has gotten better – drastically better – on the back end. But they still don’t have a player back there who is at Zubov’s level. No disrespect intended to Campbell, who is a great player. But we’re talking about Sergei Zubov. If he plays, he alone sways the vote.
ADVANTAGE: STARS
GOALTENDING
Two players who have had fantastic regular-season success in their careers, but who are both still looking for that run to the Stanley Cup Final, will have to go through each other to get one step closer.
Both goalies have also taken criticism for past playoff performances, and probably unfairly so.
Marty Turco certainly played well enough for the Stars to win last year’s opening-round series against Vancouver, registering three shutouts. This season, he had a team that provided much more offensive support in the opening round, and as a result got the first-round win he so deserved. He posted a 4-2 record, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage against the Ducks, and in the last two seasons his 1.59 goals-against average is unequaled by any goalie with at least five games under his belt.
For San Jose, Evgeni Nabokov is now a seasoned veteran, with 53 career playoff games under his belt. His career playoff numbers look like this: 28-23 record, 2.20 GAA and a .917 save percentage. But more than anything, Nabokov looks focused this season, posting his best career regular-season goals-against average (2.14) and win total (46), no doubt numbers worthy of Vezina Trophy consideration.
You pick a winner. I dare you.
ADVANTAGE: PUSH
SPECIAL TEAMS
STARS POWER PLAY vs SHARKS PENALTY KILL
In the regular season, this would have looked like an easy advantage for the Sharks.
Dallas finished the 82-game schedule 13th in the NHL in power play percentage, at 18.1 percent. San Jose finished the season No. 1 in penalty kill, with a success rate of 85.8 percent.
In the playoffs, however, things have changed quite a bit. Dallas boasts the league’s second-best power play, clicking at a 26.3 percent rate. San Jose, conversely, had the worst penalty kill in the first round, killing just 72.7 percent of its penalties against the Calgary Flames.
That should bode well for the Stars, as should Zubov’s return. But in picking an edge, I’ll prefer to use an 82-game sample rather than a 6-game sample.
ADVANTAGE: SHARKS
SHARKS POWER PLAY vs STARS PENALTY KILL
San Jose certainly has the weapons with the man advantage. They have the league’s best passer in Thornton, certified snipers in Roenick and Cheechoo and a great quarterback in Campbell. In the regular-season, San Jose was 10th in the NHL at 18.7 percent.
They hold that same 10th position in the playoffs, scoring on 19.4 percent of their chances. But the Stars finished the regular season second in penalty kill, just getting passed by the Sharks PK unit on the season’s final day. Either way, they led the NHL for almost the entire season, and despite killing just 79.2 percent so far in the playoffs, they are still among the league’s elite PK units.
ADVANTAGE: STARS
As was the case in the opening round against Anaheim, some of these matchups could swing in an unexpected direction as the series progresses. Could San Jose’s size up front give the Sharks the edge at forward? Possibly. Will Turco shine in HP Pavilion, as he has throughout his career, and outplay Nabokov? Could happen. Will San Jose’s power play rise to the occasion and ride the wave of Thornton’s great passes? You never know.
We’ll find out soon enough.
The Dallas Stars pulled off a victory tonight against the Anaheim Ducks to go on to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
DALLAS (AP) -Marty Turco knows the best way to make sure the Dallas Stars win a home playoff game is not to let anything get past him.
So he did exactly that - for all but the final 7.6 seconds Thursday night.
Turco’s near shutout, backed up by third-period goals from Stu Barnes and Steve Ott, sent the Stars past the Anaheim Ducks 3-1, giving Dallas that exact same lead in their first-round series.
The Stars can eliminate the reigning Stanley Cup champions in Game 5 in Anaheim on Friday night. Dallas already is 2-0 in that building this series.
“We understand the situation,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “We’ve got to give ourselves a chance.”
Anaheim did so by winning Game 3. It dropped the Stars to 1-7 in home playoff games, a big reason why they haven’t won a playoff series since a first-rounder in 2003.
The lone home win in that rut was a shutout by Turco. He almost did it again, until Mathieu Schneider slid the puck past him in the waning moments. It was Anaheim’s first third-period goal of the series.
“Tonight I felt really good,” said Turco, who made 28 saves. “I had an opportunity to see all the shots that came my way. There were some anxious, scrambly moments in the second period. But the guys were doing all they could to help me.”
Turco didn’t have too many spectacular stops, but he did have a third-period collision with Teemu Selanne.
Selanne skated stick-first into Turco’s head, then conked the goalie’s helmet with an elbow. Turco fell backward into the net, but was back on his skates as Selanne headed to the penalty box.
“I got clocked, but had good feeling,” Turco said. “It wasn’t an accident. You’ve got to appreciate his moxie to help those guys win. Their backs are against the wall and he’s a competitor.”
Turco’s solid play protected an early goal by Joel Lundqvist. Midway through the third period, Barnes scored on a breakaway off a long, terrific feed from Mike Modano to give Turco more breathing room. Then Barnes stole a pass and set up Ott’s goal, making it 3-0 with only 2:43 left.
“Dallas is outplaying us,” Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “We just haven’t played at the level we need to be successful.”
The Stars played at a high level despite having three rookies among its six defensemen. They were forced into it because of a lower-body injury to Philippe Boucher. Coach Dave Tippett said Boucher won’t even be re-evaluated for another week. Dallas already is without blue-line star Sergei Zubov because of a sports hernia.
Turco was proud of the youngsters in front of him: Mark Fistric, making his debut, and Nicklas Grossman and Matt Niskanen, each playing in just their fourth playoff game.
“They have grittiness and skill,” Turco said. “It was amazing to watch.”
Perhaps because everyone was thinking about helping the defense, the Stars were far less offense-minded than they had been.
After taking at least 30 shots and scoring at least two power-play goals in each of the first three games, Dallas got off only 20 shots - and none on their first five power plays. They finally got a few shots on their final try with the man advantage, but that came in the final minute.
Anaheim’s offense got a lift from the return of Corey Perry, who led the club in goals this season. He’d missed the last six weeks with a sliced thigh, but played 12:13 and took three shots.
“I thought he was a little rusty, but I thought the more he played, he showed the ability to get back in it,” Carlyle said. “You run a dangerous slope in trying to play a guy like that a bunch of minutes.”
Anaheim thought it tied it midway through the second period, but a lengthy video review determined that Brian Sutherby kicked in the puck. Carlyle was more upset that his team was “too cute” with the puck early, going for pretty goals at a time when there’s no bonus points for looks.
“We didn’t generate too many quality scoring chances,” Carlyle said. “As the game went on, we started to get more of a cycle going on, and that’s our mantra.”
Anaheim is a loss away from continuing a dismal streak for defending champs - none has reached the second round since Colorado in 2002.
Notes: Dallas also had a goal called off. Trevor Daley scored in the first period, but Niklas Hagman bumped Giguere at the lip of the crease before the shot and interference was called before Daley lit the lamp. … Anaheim’s defensemen had a combined 570 games of playoff experience. Dallas’ group had 90. … Officials had to separate players at the end of each of the first two periods. … Ducks RW Rob Niedermayer (concussion) remained out.
Associated Press
Brenden Morrow scored two power-play goals early in the third period to cut the deficit to two goals, but the Stars were unable to complete the comeback as they fell to the Ducks, 4-2, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals
