Game 1

- Great power play. Shutout by Turco. Huge win in game 1 against the defending champs.

- The Stars made the self-proclaimed toughest team in the league pay for their ignorance. Anaheim is really just a bunch of arrogant goons. One of the dirtiest teams in the league. Late hits, bad penalties, after the whistle antics. And the Stars nailed them for it.

- Stars shut them out, look for the road sweep Saturday night.

Dallas Stars dominate Ducks in Game 1, 4-0

04:14 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Dallas Stars may have surprised even themselves Thursday night by playing a game that has been missing for almost a month and shutting down the defending Stanley Cup champions on their home ice in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Not only did Dallas put together the kind of team effort that was a hallmark of this squad earlier in the season, it laid a huge amount of doubt onto the table for the Anaheim Ducks and their fans.

The Stars went 4-for-7 on the power play and took a 4-0 victory against a team that touted the best home record in the NHL. It also set up a big challenge for the Ducks, who must rebound in Game 2 on Saturday or face the prospect of going down 2-0 in the series with Game 3 and Game 4 in Dallas next week.

"It’s a good start, but we can’t get too high," Stars center Mike Modano said. "We need to get some rest and then get ramped up again. You have to respond because you know they’re going to answer the bell."

"We couldn't have drawn it up any better," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who scored the final goal. "We stayed smart. We stayed disciplined. And we took advantage on the power play."

The power play had been in a slump, but it was missing Mike Ribeiro, Jere Lehtinen and Brad Richards, who each have been battling soreness and illness. The Stars got their roster back intact (minus Sergei Zubov) Thursday and seemed to have a ton of energy. That allowed Stars coach Dave Tippett to put Morrow with Ribeiro and Lehtinen, and put Richards with Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist. The Ribeiro line continued to be the top scoring line for the Stars, as Morrow had a goal and two assists, Lehtinen scored a goal and had an assist, and Ribeiro earned two assists.

The Stars ran the majority of the power play with Modano and Stephane Robidas, and they made the Ducks pay for their mistakes.

"There were a lot of things that weren’t as good as they should have been,’’ said Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer. "We did take some bad penalties, but they seemed to find a way to score at will."

Steve Ott tipped a Robidas shot for the first goal. Eriksson was wide open on the second. Lehtinen and Morrow found space in the slot for the last two, thanks in large part to Ribeiro’s smart play. But when the Stars weren’t on the power play, they had to make smart plays, as well. Rookie Matt Niskanen drew the first penalty, Trevor Daley the second, Philippe Boucher the third, and Mattias Norstrom the fourth. The Stars defense did the right thing in a lot of different situations while playing under heavy pressure.

Marty Turco finished with 23 saves and recorded his fourth career playoff shutout – the fourth in his last seven playoff games.

"I don’t want to single any part of it out, because I thought Turco had some great saves, I thought our defense did a great job in front of the net, and I thought our forwards did a great job in defending," Tippett said.

Mix in strong playoff debuts for Niskanen (22:07 in ice time) and Niklas Grossman (15:39), and you have an impressive performance down the line.

"What was great about this win is that we did it as a team," Robidas said. "Honestly, we used everybody. Everybody was important in this game. When we do that, that's when we really are a good team."

That team feeling was important, especially with the team’s playoff history. The Stars had lost five straight Game 1s with Tippett as their coach and Turco in goal. They were 1-4 in those series. To put the pressure on the opposition was definitely a nice change.

"I can’t remember the last time we won a Game 1," Morrow said. "It was huge."

That said, it was just one game, players reminded.

"We have to be ready for Saturday, because we know they’re going to be ready, and we know it’s going to be twice as hard as tonight was,’’ Boucher said. "And tonight was not easy."

It just looked that way.





- I don't even know what to say anymore. I'm not sure what else I can write about Dirk.



Dirk's dagger gets Dallas Mavericks in playoffs

04:32 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

The playoffs became more than a rumor Thursday night for the Mavericks.

And the Mavericks became much more than an afterthought for anybody gauging their chances in the postseason.

In one of the most entertaining games of this or any regular season, the Mavericks made the last of many huge plays – Dirk Nowitzki's 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left – to outlast the Utah Jazz, 97-94, at American Airlines Center.

The win, coupled with Denver's win at Golden State, clinched a playoff berth for the Mavericks.

The way they won it clinched far more than a spot in the bracket. The Jazz had won four in a row, including the last two against San Antonio and New Orleans, who managed an average of 65 points against the Jazz.

The Mavs passed that by the end of the third quarter. Then, they bowed up to make some gutsy plays down the stretch for their third win in a row and fifth in six games.

"Out of all the games when we started this run, this is one game I really was keeping my eyes on and seeing how far we've come in the physicality department," coach Avery Johnson said. "If we'd have lost this game, obviously, I wouldn't have felt great. But I thought we battled."

The Mavericks, who reached 50 wins for the eighth straight season, had made a season out of losing games just like this. They now have pulled a couple of them out in the last week and their attitude heading toward the playoffs is as positive as it's been all season.

The last, frantic minute made the difference. The lead had flip-flopped 10 times in the fourth quarter alone. The Mavs went up 94-91 on two Jason Terry free throws with 9.4 seconds to go. Terry had 21 points, all after halftime.

But Utah's Deron Williams banked in a 3-pointer with 5.8 ticks left to tie the score.

The Mavericks had no timeouts left and it was a good thing. They inbounded quickly, with Jason Kidd shoveling the ball to Eddie Jones, who found Nowitzki on the left wing, just outside the arc. His 3-pointer made it eight points in the final 9.4 seconds and delivered the Mavericks an emotional, gut-checking win.

"No lead in this league is comfortable anymore, and we know Utah keeps on playing," Nowitzki said. "Over the last three or four weeks, we lost those close games. We were able to pull it out."

They did so without Josh Howard for most of the second half. He played just three minutes after halftime after bruising his right knee, aggravating an injury he suffered Sunday in Phoenix. Howard said he doesn't think the injury is serious.

It was a heartbreaker for Utah, which reacted after Williams' 3-pointer like it was expecting the Mavericks to call a timeout.

"I think it was the excitement of, 'Wow, that shot just banked in,'" said Kyle Korver, who found himself trying to guard two Mavericks in the quick trip downcourt. "We just didn't get back, and he hit a big, big shot."

Nowitzki finished with 32 points. But he got loads of help from Jones, Eddie George and Brandon Bass, all of whom played key roles off the bench.

"We wanted to get progressively better," Johnson said of the Mavericks finally nailing down a playoff spot. "We had a major setback in terms of trying to get our team together once we made this trade, and now we seem to have it moving in the right direction."




- Doubleheader sweep??? Great starting pitching? Great bullpen work?? Over .500 for the first time since 2006?



Win-win situation: Texas Rangers above .500 after DH sweep

12:57 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By TODD WILLS / The Dallas Morning News
twills@dallasnews.com

ARLINGTON – The Rangers are over .500 for the first time in the Ron Washington era.

But that was the last thing the second-year manager wanted to talk about after the Rangers swept Thursday's doubleheader from Baltimore, previously the hottest team in the American League.

The topics of interest to Washington after the 3-1 and 5-4 victories were the Rangers' surprising starting pitching, timely and aggressive hitting and the bookend saves by first-year closer C.J. Wilson.

To Washington, those were a much bigger deal than improving to 5-4, even if it's the first time the Rangers have been above .500 since Sept, 23, 2006, when they were 78-77.

"We've played only nine ballgames," Washington said. "We're playing very well. Ask me when we're 15 or 20 games over .500, then yeah, maybe I'll be excited about it."

Washington had plenty to be excited about Thursday. Some of the highlights:

•The starting pitching continues to shine. Kevin Millwood and Kason Gabbard combined to allow four earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. That gives the Rangers' rotation a 2.88 ERA entering today's series against Toronto.

Millwood has been the staff's ringleader, even if his win Thursday was only his first in three starts. He left with a 1.29 ERA.

The Rangers gave Millwood a five-year contract to be the leader of the pitching staff, and in his third season, he may be doing just that.

"My whole deal was to get off to a good start," Millwood said. "I think I've done that."

•The offense finally produced in the clutch after sleeping through Tuesday's home opener, an 8-1 loss. It took awhile Thursday, as the Rangers were hitless in their first six chances with runners in scoring position in Game 1.

"Up until the seventh, there wasn't much we could do," Washington said.

Ian Kinsler had a one-out single and stole second on his own. He scored the go-ahead run on Michael Young's line drive to center.

Young was then given the green light from Washington. He stole second and scored on an aggressive decision by third-base coach Matt Walbeck on Josh Hamilton's shallow fly ball to right field.

Young and Kinsler had the key hits in Game 2. Young had a home run to get the offense going in the first inning, and Kinsler snapped a 4-4 tie in Game 2 with a run-scoring single.

Wilson retired all six batters he faced in the two games. He was so effective in the first game, throwing 10 pitches, that he was available to come back in the second.

Wilson credited Joaquin Benoit and Jamey Wright, who produced quality efforts in front of him.

"It helps when guys are setting you up," Wilson said.