Following a three-day break after a disappointing loss, the Dallas Stars delivered another surprisingly sub-par performance, running their season-high winless streak to four games as they lost 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday night at the ScottTrade Center. In the first of four straight contests against clubs that are out of the playoff picture, the Stars lost ground in the battle for post-season positioning. They remained 10 points back of Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead and one shy of San Jose for second in the division and fifth in the Western Conference. They also stayed tied with Calgary for sixth, while Minnesota, who beat Boston earlier Thursday, also tied them to create a three-team tie for spots 6-8. The Stars held at least one game in hand on all of the above clubs.
Dallas fell to 0-2-2 in their last four to that point, although the last two losses were the only ones in which they did not record a point in the standings in the previous nine. Even with the defeat, the Stars were still 7-3-3 over the last 13 contests at that point. Doug Weight scored two goals, Jay McClement had three assists and both Lee Stempniak and Eric Brewer had a goal and assist to lead the Blues' offense. For the Stars, Mike Modano inched ever closer to a looming milestone, scoring his 498th career goal, and added an assist, while Jere Lehtinen and Philippe Boucher also connected. Rookie Mike Smith took the loss in net, making 24 saves. The Stars' special teams did not come through for them, failing to cash in on two lengthy 5-on-3 power plays in the game, including one midway through the third period for 1:25 trailing 3-2. Dallas entered the night tied for first in the NHL with 13 goals while enjoying a two-man advantage, sporting a stellar 31.7 % conversion rate.
"The 5-on-3s came at key times in the game and we have to find ways to get goals," said Boucher, whose 12 power play goal leads the club and matched a franchise record for defensemen. "We talk about poise, well I wasn't as poised as I needed to be tonight. When we compete hard and set the tempo, we have a lot of success. When we don't match the opponent's intensity, games like tonight happen. We have to tighten up and play how we know we can play." Overall on the man-advantage, Dallas went 1-for-6, although the goal came with just 12 seconds remaining in a game that was already decided. Even with that one, the Stars are a feeble 2-for-18 over the previous four games.
Meanwhile, Dallas surrendered a power play goal to the Blues, whose PP unit is ranked 29th out of 30 NHL teams. They also got behind early for the second straight game and were constantly chasing it. "We have to compete and find players who are willing to compete," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "Some guys are competing hard but some are not where we need them to be. We are going to play the guys who want to compete. Soft skill isn't going to cut it this time of year and needless to say, I'm very frustrated right now."
With the Stars struggling offensively lately, entering the contest with just three goals in the previous three outings, Tippett shuffled around the forward lines. Among the new combinations was Modano centering rookies Loui Eriksson and Chris Conner, who was just recalled from the minors Thursday, and that unit accounted for their first goal. "Mo played his best game in a while and I thought Loui and Conner were excellent," Tippett said.
With all the trouble the Dallas Stars had been having scoring goals recently, it seemed like it might take a shutout for them to win, and Marty Turco delivered just that. Stopping all 30 shots he faced, Turco led the Stars to a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday night at Nationwide Arena. It was Turco's 30th win of the season, the fourth straight season that he has reached that milestone, and snapped the Stars' season-high four-game losing streak. After going 0-2-2 in their previous four and scoring only six goals over that span, the Stars picked up some much-needed points in the ongoing race for post-season positioning.
Dallas moved ahead of San Jose for second place in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference, and to within eight points of Anaheim for the division lead, at least temporarily (both clubs played later Friday night). They also managed to stay just ahead of Minnesota and Calgary, each of whom are within two points of Dallas in spots seven and eight. Columbus entered the night on a three-game winning streak, started by their 3-2 shootout victory over the Stars one week earlier at the American Airlines Center. Since then the Blue Jackets hadn't lost and the Stars hadn't won, but Dallas was able to reverse the trend. The Stars were led offensively by defensemen Sergei Zubov, who scored a goal and an assist, and Philippe Boucher, who contributed two assists. Niklas Hagman and Mike Ribeiro also scored.
But Turco was their best player, turning aside several excellent Columbus scoring chances and keeping them off the board early until the Stars regained their footing. "This was the best I have felt in a long time," Turco said. "I was seeing the puck well and our D played really well in front of me. A lot of times, early action like I saw tonight gets you into a rhythm. We knew we were facing a huge test tonight so the shutout is nice, but the win is even better." Another key for the Stars was the renewed success of their special teams, which had let them down the past couple of games. This time, Dallas connected twice on the power play, including the crucial first goal of the contest, and their penalty killing had a perfect outing, overcoming all three Columbus man-advantage opportunities.
"Marty was excellent tonight and made some great saves early," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We played a solid team game, we had excellent special teams and we have to build on this one. We are obviously better when we aren't chasing, and we know we need to play hard on the puck and win battles. We did that tonight and played very soundly."
The Stars had to overcome an outstanding game at the other end by Columbus goaltender Fredrik Norrena, who entered the night 2-0-0 against the Stars this season with a 1.44 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. Norrena made 28 saves, many of them difficult ones. "When we get challenged, whether it is from our coaches or the other team, we have shown we are capable of responding," said Boucher, whose two assists helped him set a career-high in points. "We have to bring our A game' every night. Marty was great tonight. You see lots of ice packs lately and we showed a lot of heart and sacrifice tonight."
After collecting two goals in his previous three games, Mike Modano had another impressive showing, once again skating on a line with rookies Chris Conner and Loui Eriksson. After scoring just once in the first 13 games since his return to the lineup while still battling the nagging hip muscle injury that caused him to miss 23 earlier this season, Modano finally seems back like his past self lately. Despite not scoring, he played a determined game in his quest for 500 career goals, leading the Stars with four shots on goal. He remained at 498, tied with Glenn Anderson for 39th in NHL history and four behind Joe Mullen for the most among American-born players.
It could have been a highlight film from five years ago, watching Mike Modano pick up the puck at center ice and fly into the opponents' zone and unleash a wicked snap shot to score a big goal. But it wasn't a highlight, it was Modano scoring his 499th career goal 35 seconds into overtime to lead the Dallas Stars to a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Sunday afternoon at the American Airlines Center. It was Modano's third goal in his last five games, and leaves him in 39th place on the NHL's all-time list of goal scorers. He is also now just three behind Joe Mullen's record for American-born players.
Despite surrendering the first goal of the game for the fifth time in their last six games, the Stars rebounded to win their second straight, and keep pace with the three other teams (Minnesota, San Jose, Calgary) in spots 5-8 in the Western Conference that entered the day separated by just one point. Dallas is now 14-5-4 in their last 23 contests and 9-2-2 in the last 13 home games. It was the fifth time in the past eight games the Stars needed extra time to decide things, and the sixth in the last 10.
"It was one of those games where a lot of stuff happens, some good and some bad," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We're fortunate to get the last good." The Stars have dominated the season series between the clubs this season, winning all seven meetings by a combined score of 26-14.
After shutting out Columbus Friday night, Marty Turco was solid in goal again, making 18 saves, while the Dallas offense was led by regulation goals from Ladislav Nagy, Trevor Daley and Niklas Hagman. Sergei Zubov added three assists and Jussi Jokinen contributed two. The Finnish Line of Jokinen, Hagman and Jere Lehtinen were especially creative, seemingly generating scoring chances every time on the ice. "Pretty hard not to be pleased with them tonight," Tippett said. "They were the best line on the ice tonight by a wide margin. They mesh well and have similar habits."
"I enjoy playing with Hagman and Jere," said Jokinen, who was +2 and had three shots on goal. "They are great players and it makes it easier to have some guys who speak my language."
On the first shift of OT, Modano took a pass from Zubov at center, raced across the blue line with the puck, cut across the top of the face-off circles and ripped a quick snap shot that beat LA goaltender Sean Burke over the shoulder for the win.
"It was a good play and it took me a second or two to get it to my forehand," Modano said. "I was just holding my stride a little bit to create some space, let them back off a bit, and that gave me a second." Modano has looked a lot more like his former self, after struggling a bit when he first returned from the hip muscle injury that cost him 23 games and limited his effectiveness for the first 10 games back, in which he scored just one goal and three points. Now that the injury is finally healed, his speed and skating game have come back. "I felt good out there," Modano said. "It feels as good as it has in a long time, back to where it was before the injury, so that's a good sign. That gives me a little bit of confidence to get up and down the ice better and make some things happen."
The Dallas Stars know the importance of their next two road games. First of all, they are both against the team that is directly above them in the Pacific Division and in the Western Conference. Secondly, since the All-Star Break they are 0-1-1 and were beaten by the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday afternoon by a 4-1 final. The Stars will faceoff with the Sharks on Tuesday and on Thursday at HP Pavilion in San Jose and everybody in the Dallas locker room knows that the effort must be one of desperation.
"They are ahead of us in the standings, and we want to push hard to catch them," said Philippe Boucher. "I'm expecting two high-intensity games. This is one of those nice things about the Pacific Division, you get to spend some days in nice cities like this, although the division seems to be getting tougher everyday." A positive about the two road games in San Jose is that it means the Stars will have to travel there one less time. The Stars had the luxury of doing this in October against the Los Angeles Kings and won both games (4-1 wins on Oct. 12 and Oct. 14 at the Staples Center).
Sounds like a nice way to cut costs, build up bad blood, and reap the excitement that goes with it. Just like the College Clubs. Go Cyclones!
Road Trip
The Stars recognize that this road trip is a great test for them. They have three opportunities ahead of them, but the first one is tomorrow night in San Jose. "We are facing good tests the whole trip," said Stu Barnes. "St. Louis is one of the hottest teams in the league." "Now that we're getting healthy again, we need to gather as many points as we can and climb the ladder."
Wheres Dano?
One question on everybody's mind right now is when is Mike Modano going to come back. The answer could be tomorrow, but it depends on how the 17-year veteran is feeling come game time. "It's more of a mental thing where I want to feel 100% comfortable and confident," said Modano. "Until I get into a game, I won't know for sure, but I've just been waiting to feel completely healthy as far as speed and explosiveness go, and I've been getting close the last few days. I feel like I'm turning a corner and if I feel tomorrow the way I feel today, I'll play.
I'm as close as I'm going to get, so the sooner I can get back in, the better." Stars coach Dave Tippett also led on that the team might see Modano back in the lineup tomorrow, but stopped short of saying that he was in for sure. The training staff and Tippett want to be positive that he is ready to go when he comes back to avoid any kind of setback once he hits the ice for a game. "We've been continuing to throw him into game situations and get his conditioning back to where it needs to be," said Tippett. "It's possible that he'll play tomorrow, but he's now day-to-day instead of week-to-week.
Every action, every drill carried a special purpose Monday for Modano. Each was a test for his healing hip, which has sidelined him since Dec. 4. The objective was the same, whether he was racing up the ice with familiar linemates Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen or going hard into the corner to check Trevor Daley or practicing one-timers with Philippe Boucher. Modano called it a "mental checklist" – one that he passed.
"It's as close as I'm going to get," Modano said, when asked if he's 100 percent. "It's not going to feel any better by Thursday or Saturday. The sooner I can get in there and get my legs going and get into those game situations, the better." Modano's progress has accelerated since seeing a specialist in Nashville on Jan. 18. A cortisone injection reduced swelling and helped break up scar tissue in his upper hip.
Modano, a former No. 1 overall draft pick and the only player remaining on the Stars' roster that made the move from Minnesota to Dallas in 1993, is second in career goals and points among U.S.-born players. His 495 goals trail Joe Mullen's 502, and his 1,203 points trail Phil Housley.
Head to Head
You've heard of a four-point game? The Stars could see an eight-point swing, depending on their next two games. Because of a concession to travel, the Stars are playing consecutive games in San Jose. The Stars trail the Sharks by six points in the Pacific Division in the battle for the fifth seed. That margin could be as little as two or as much as 10 after Thursday's game.
"We went through a stretch of two months of injuries and crazy things going on," Barnes said. "There's still over two months left in the season. You'll never know."
The St. Louis Blues took an early 1 - 0 lead and never looked back. It was over when Jamal Meyers and Jay McClement took over a Los Angeles Kings turnover. Mayers took the puck from the Center Line down the right side and fired a shot to McClement who deflected it into the net giving the Blues a 4 - 2 lead at 9:37 in the third period. It is the second straight win for the Blues who have scored points in the last four games.
Blues rookie David Backes who got engaged Sunday, called up Monday, scored his first assist Tuesday and scored his first goal tonight was named Star of the Game.
Who knows, it may not be a Blue Christmas after all in The Gateway City.
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