Go time

- Gameday is finally here.

- Can the Stars keep the good vibes going? Can they keep the incredible Mojo working? Or will the door get slammed shut in their faces like so many other past meetings with Detroit? A lot of demons can be exorcised in the next 2 weeks.

- From the Ann Arbor paper.

Wings expect Dallas' Morrow to be tough matchup

by Ansar Khan
Wednesday May 07, 2008, 1:21 AM

DETROIT -- After the euphoria of scoring in the fourth overtime finally faded, Dallas' Brenden Morrow felt the effects of logging 51 minutes of ice time and registering 19 hits in the decisive Game 6 playoff victory over San Jose Sunday.

"It felt like two games' worth of hitting," Morrow said. "Body was a little drained. Every time you (sat) down in the chair, it was pretty tough getting up, just losing all those fluids, aches and pains. ... It was grueling playing that many minutes, trying to play the same way, play physical. It took its toll, but it was well worth it."


After having three days to recharge, the Detroit Red Wings can expect Morrow to be just as relentless and as difficult to deal with when they face the Stars in the Western Conference finals, starting Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.

While Detroit's Johan Franzen was rewriting the record books with his goal-scoring binge against Colorado in the last round, Morrow likewise has been a force in the postseason. Though not as big as Franzen, Morrow is a hard-nosed left winger who is difficult to contain around the net, a scoring threat, a punishing checker and the team leader as a second-year captain.

"He's their heart and soul," Franzen said. "He plays hard every night. He's got a really hard body. He's not that big, but he hits hard. He takes the puck to the net and you have to be ready for him."

Red Wings forward Aaron Downey, who played with Morrow for two seasons in Dallas, said, "I think Brenden Morrow is becoming probably the premier power forward in the league by the looks of his playoffs. Look at the development of Johan Franzen, it's the same situation with Brenden. He's doing it at both ends of the ice."

Morrow leads the Stars with seven playoff goals, including that power-play effort at 9:03 of quadruple-overtime. He leads all players with 66 hits, including a devastating shoulder check that knocked Milan Michalek out of Sunday's game at the end of regulation.

"He wants to hunt you down a little bit on the ice," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "That's the player most people would like to have on their team."

"It's been a long time since I've seen a player have as much of an impact on a series as Brendan had," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "When you see a player play that hard, that determined, willing to do whatever it takes, whether it's finding a big hit, blocking a shot, scoring a goal, that's very infectious within your group."

Through two rounds against Nashville and Colorado, the Red Wings haven't faced a forward this difficult to play against.

"We've got to match his work ethic. That's the key," Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "He's not huge (5-11, 205), but he's strong on his feet. He's got one of the biggest hearts in the league and passion for the sport. That's something we have to match to be able to contain him."

Stars goaltender Marty Turco called Morrow "a consummate leader."

"What he does is demand the puck, demand to be good and make his next shift the best one possible," Turco said. "To say it's contagious is an understatement. It's something that we're going to continue to need from him and from everybody else to follow suit. It's one thing to say things in the locker room as a leader, to inspire and try to encourage players, but it's another thing to get out there and actually do it."

Morrow promises to forecheck just as hard and be just as physical against the Red Wings as he was against Anaheim and San Jose in the first two rounds.

"It's tough to get a good lick on (defensemen Nicklas) Lidstrom or (Brian) Rafalski. They're pretty good puck-movers," Morrow said. "Our plan is to attack, get pucks in areas where we can force turnovers, get some pressure on them. It's finishing checks on (Henrik) Zetterberg, trying to get in people's way, slow them down a little bit. That's going to be our focus against this team."



- The preview from the Detroit paper.



Wings-Stars scouting report, prediction

Forwards

The Wings have two lines stacked with the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Mikael Samuelsson, and there's still more offensive depth with Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler. Plus, every line is reliable defensively. For Dallas, trade-day acquisition Brad Richards has delivered, producing 11 points in 12 games, tying with team captain Brenden Morrow and trailing only Mike Ribeiro's 14 points. Former Westland resident Mike Modano has 10 points.

Edge: Push

Defense

Stars defenseman Mattias Norstrom is as tough as they come, and Sergei Zubov and Stephane Robidas are productive from the points, giving Dallas a good all-around defense. Nicklas Lidstrom, who may soon win his sixth Norris Trophy, and Brian Rafalski are the most adept puck-controlling duo in the NHL, and Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart add fierce physicality and offense. Beyond a third pairing made up of Chris Chelios, Brett Lebda or Andreas Lilja, the Wings possess great depth, too, with Derek Meech, Kyle Quincey and Jonathan Ericsson ready if needed.

Edge: Wings

Goaltending

Chris Osgood hasn't had to steal a game yet for the Wings. They've been playing so well in front of him, and scoring so much, he has just needed to make timely saves. Marty Turco has played a bigger role in getting the Stars to Round 3, building a 1.73 goals-against average and .929 save percentage. Now the question is if he can overcome his past against the Wings. He's 2-10-5 against them in his career, and is 0-7-2 at Joe Louis Arena -- but those numbers all come from regular-season games.

Edge: Wings

Special teams

The Stars already have 15 goals off their power plays -- including four each from Modano and Morrow -- giving them a 25% success rate, compared with 20.4% for Detroit. On the penalty kill, the teams are practically dead even: Dallas has an 85.7% success rate, Detroit is at 85.4%, albeit with three shorthanded goals.

Edge: Stars

Coaching

Mike Babcock has gotten the Wings to a point where they can win by finesse or grit and is making his second straight appearance in the Western finals. After seeing the Stars go 4-8-2 from March to the end of the regular season, Dave Tippett has guided the team past defending Stanley Cup champ Anaheim and San Jose, a team widely picked to win the Cup.

Edge: Push

Other Details

Everything has been going so well for the Wings -- no serious injuries, no straining travel -- it seems like they're touched by destiny. The Stars, however, come into this series hardened by two tougher opening rounds and have to be bursting with confidence.

Edge: Push

Prediction

Wings in six.




- The Detroit curse.....



Hockeytown curse? Stars goalie Turco 0-7-2 at Detroit

DALLAS — Throughout the shellings, blown leads and other indignations he’s endured at Joe Louis Arena, Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco has pacified himself with one thought: “At least it’s not the playoffs.”

Well, now it is.

Turco is carrying an 0-7-2 record and a 3.17 goals-against average at “The Joe” into the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings starting Thursday night.

Uh-oh, eh?

“Actually, not at all,” Turco said Tuesday. “This is totally a different animal. ... To say I’m looking forward to this is an understatement.”

He’s coming off arguably the best performance of his career, one of the best in club history — a franchise-record 61 saves in a quadruple-overtime victory that ended the second-round series against the Sharks. Had he let any of those shots get past him, Dallas would’ve been playing Game 7 in San Jose on Tuesday night.

Turco has been solid the entire postseason, with a goals-against average that’s second only to Detroit’s Chris Osgood and the fourth-best save percentage. More important, he outdueled reigning Stanley Cup champion Jean-Sebastien Giguere of Anaheim in the first round, then topped Vezina Trophy finalist Evgeni Nabokov in the second round.

“He’s been spectacular in making the hard saves look easy for us for a long time,” Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”

Now, if he wins a single game — and Dallas will need at least one in Detroit to win the series — he’ll really have done something.

“I’m not trying to erase any memories of playing against these guys at Joe Louis at all,” Turco said. “I’m here to win this series, to win the next game, and, from a focus level, to make that next save. That’s for me, and pretty much all goalies, the approach you need to have and look forward to it.”

The last time the Stars won in Detroit, backup Mike Smith got the win. The time before that, it was another of Turco’s backups, Johan Hedberg.

But Turco isn’t much better against the Red Wings in Dallas, going 2-3-3. That’s a career record of 2-10-5 against Detroit for a goalie who’s 205-93-21 against everyone else.

“I really could care less if I was 0-and-100 against these guys or had never lost a game and never got scored on,” Turco said. “It is totally all irrelevant at this time of year. It’s something that, to be honest, isn’t entering my mind at all. ... So there’s a lot to think about, and that’s not one of them.”

The Red Wings surely will be thinking about it. They know they’ve owned Turco at their place and will do all they can to remind him of it. In other words, if they’re not already in his head — like he insists — then they will try getting there quickly, whether they admit it or not.

“I’m not playing into that,” Detroit forward Kris Draper said. “It’s a different time of year. He’s a huge reason why the Dallas Stars are coming into the Western Conference finals. He’s never played here this time of year, and we’ve never played him this time of year. It’s a whole new ballgame.”

Turco is in the conference finals for the first time in his career, a feat that would be the angle if Dallas was facing anyone else.

After winning his first-ever playoff series, back in 2003, he lost four straight. The last three were first-rounders, prompting questions of whether he was the right guy in goal.

Turco earned the benefit of the doubt last postseason with three shutout wins and forcing overtime in two of his losses, including a four-OT thriller. His performance the last two rounds — which includes winning Games 1 and 2 on the road in both series — proves the franchise was right to keep trusting him, having dealt the highly touted Smith to Tampa at the trade deadline for Brad Richards.

Now, conquering his house of horrors, er, Joe Louis Arena, and getting Dallas back to the Stanley Cup finals would be a double dose of credibility.

“Today is a new day and a series is a new series, so it’s a time to re-establish yourself again and quiet those critics,” Stars icon Mike Modano said.

The irony is Turco loved playing at The Joe during his college days at Michigan.

“You know, it’s got a lot of great memories for me, not just the disappointing ones in the NHL,” he said. “To draw on experiences from all areas of my career, you know, you’re going to do that. But I’m really looking forward to going back there and looking to have some more success.”



- A look back at the 1998 series.



A rematch 10 years in the making

Bob Matuszak May 7, 2008, 5:01 PM EDT

In the spring of 1998, hope sprung eternal for the Dallas Stars. After all, they had just disposed of the Edmonton Oilers in a mere five games to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1991, the year they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. And like that team at the turn of the decade, this edition was built to win a championship.

A confident group guided by wily veterans like Pat Verbeek and Guy Carbonneau, these Stars had an edge to them, thanks in large part to their taskmaster, Ken Hitchcock. Hitchcock drove the team hard while implementing a disciplined and defensive style that suffocated teams to death.

The Stars fully expected to meet up with either Buffalo or Washington, the two teams playing in the Eastern Conference finals, and then proudly parade the silver trophy through the streets alongside Reunion Arena.

The only thing standing in their date with destiny was Scotty Bowman, Steve Yzerman, and the rest of the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

"I've played against these guys my whole career, so I know what they're going to do," Dallas' enigmatic goaltender Ed Belfour said about his upcoming opponent. "I know who their snipers are, and I know how to approach them."

The series was billed as a battle of the behemoths. The Stars boasted a tight-checking style, with Belfour rarely seeing more than 25 shots per game. Centers Joe Nieuwendyk and Mike Modano led the offensive charge, while general manager Bob Gainey bolstered the veteran presence on his team with the addition of Mike Keane and Brian Skrudland in a deadline deal with the New York Rangers.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, had won their first championship in 42 years the summer before, and were looking to become the first team since Pittsburgh in 1992 to win consecutive Stanley Cups. Like the Stars, the Red Wings had a splendid mix of gritty forwards like Kris Draper and Darren McCarty coupled with offensive stars Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov.

Heading into the series, the Stars were on a roll despite losing Nieuwendyk for the rest of the postseason when he injured his knee in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against San Jose. Dallas had allowed just five goals to the Oilers in their semifinal series win, and was ready for whatever Detroit was going to throw at them.

Below is a capsule look at the series that proved to be everything it was billed up to be.

Game 1, May 24 at Dallas
Having won six of their last seven games, Dallas entered Game 1 with tremendous confidence. Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, however, quickly let the air out of the Stars balloon.

Playing in front of a raucous sold-out Reunion Arena, Osgood silenced the crowd while being hardly tested, finishing with just 14 saves, including only eight after the first 20 minutes.

Slava Kozlov and Martin Lapointe scored second-period goals for the Red Wings, who improved to 6-1 on the road in the '98 playoffs.

"Both of these teams can shut down the other one real well," Bowman said. "That's what happened today. There was not much in the way of scoring opportunities."

The Red Wings took 23 shots on Belfour, and killed off all five of Dallas' power play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 in the first period.

"Our power play did not get it done," Hitchcock said. "We need to focus on that. Detroit's four outworked our five."

The Stars work on the power play was becoming troubling for Hitchcock. Dallas had converted only twice on its last 34 man advantage attempts heading into the series, and following Game 1 they were just 9-for-75 in the postseason.

"We're not happy with the way we played," Stars captain Derian Hatcher said. "After we got behind I think we got frustrated. It's a lot tougher to come back from the deficit against teams that play like ours."

Game 2, May 26 at Dallas
Determined to erase the bitter taste of their Game 1 loss, the Stars came out hitting in Game 2. The strategy worked.

Outmuscling the Red Wings the entire game, the Stars tied the series thanks to a convincing 3-1 win. Dallas got goals from grinder Bob Bassen and Greg Adams, and Carbonneau iced the game with an empty-net tally to send the best-of-seven to Detroit deadlocked at a game apiece.

The Stars set the tone in a physical first period, outhitting the Red Wings by a 15-5 margin.

"The nastier and harder Derian (Hatcher) and those guys play, the harder the whole group plays, and that's better for us," Hitchcock said.

Bassen, who had scored all of three goals in the regular season, opened the scoring when he chipped the puck over Osgood's shoulder just six minutes into the game. Hatcher and defensive partner Richard Matvichuk, meanwhile, combined for nine hits in the game, which was one more than all of the Detroit blueliners.

Bassen also got physical after he scored, banging into the glass with a jubilatory force the Stars soon latched onto.

"I was a little out of control there," Bassen said. "I had to go sit on the bench."

It was quite a change for a team that looked lethargic at best in Game 1.

"Our first game effort was not good enough," Modano said. "We knew we had to come out and play physically, play with a high level of intensity and take the body."

In the process, the Stars set a playoff record by allowing two goals or less in 10 consecutive postseason games. The original record was set by the 1928 Montreal Maroons.

"The last 10 minutes, Dallas just stayed back and played defensive hockey," Fedorov said. "All five of their guys stayed back and played defense in the third and they did an outstanding job of doing that and upsetting our attack."

Game 3, May 29 at Detroit
Stingy defense had been the name of the Stars game throughout the '97-98 season. In Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, it took the night off at the most inopportune time.

Detroit used four unanswered goals in the game's first 25 minutes to unglue the Stars just enough to take a 2-1 series lead with a 5-3 Game 3 win. Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom scored twice in the four-goal outburst, and Brent Gilchrist, Jamie Macoun and Lapointe also scored.

Down 4-0, the Stars put on a ferocious counter-attack, and made it 4-3 with 12 minutes left in regulation on Modano's goal. But Lapointe put the game away with his seventh postseason tally with just over four minutes to go after he knocked down Belfour behind the net before skating out in front to deposit the clincher.

"Lapointe two-handed me and caught me in between a piece of pad," Belfour said. "Obviously it hurt. I went down and tried to get back in the net, but it was too late."

Jere Lehtinen had a pair of goals for the Stars, who registered 34 shots on Osgood but went an abysmal 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

"We can talk all we want about how we came back and almost won the game, but we aren't going to fool anyone," Skrudland said. "Detroit had a 4-0 lead in their building and they slacked off a little. That's just human nature, and that's all it was."

Game 4, May 31 at Detroit
The Stars didn't want to dream about what would happen to their championship aspirations if they lost Game 4. Unfortunately, their nightmare came true.

Smelling blood, the Red Wings jumped on the Stars early then held on for dear life for the second straight game, defeating Dallas 3-2 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to Texas.

Kirk Maltby and Yzerman scored in the first period, and Kozlov netted the winner midway through the third period for Detroit.

Verbeek cut the lead in half with a goal in the second period, and Sergei Zubov tied it just under a minute into the third. But the rally fell short again, as the Stars found themselves in a big hole that was going to be tough to crawl out of.

"There's a big difference between 2-2 and 3-1," Yzerman said. "This is going to be one of the most difficult teams in the league to try and end the series."

The Red Wings also received an emotional boost with the attendance of former defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, who was recovering from a severe head injury sustained in a limousine accident last June.

The Stars, meanwhile, once again unloaded on Osgood, peppering the netminder with 30 shots.

"We had some great chances, but Chris Osgood played better than I've ever seen him play," Hitchcock said.

"This team's got way too much character and way too much strength and experience to give up," Matvichuk said. "We know if we can get that one early in our rink, we'll be all right."

Game 5, June 3 at Dallas
The Stars didn't need a miracle to get back into their series with the Red Wings, they just needed a win. They ended up getting both.

Jamie Langenbrunner's improbable goal from 100-feet out just 46 seconds into overtime helped Dallas stave off elimination with a 3-2 Game 5 win at Reunion Arena. Langenbrunner's slap shot from the center of the red line skipped over Osgood's stick and jumped into the net, giving the Stars sudden life in sudden death.

"I don't know if I've ever scored form that far," Langenbrunner said.

Langenbrunner, though, never would have been in the position to win it had it not been for Carbonneau's dramatic goal with just 85 seconds left in regulation. Carbonneau's wrist shot from the right circle deflected off Lidstrom's stick and over Osgood's shoulder to send the game into the extra session.

"I didn't really see what happened," said Carbonneau, who also assisted on Keane's first-period goal. "I know I wasn't trying to shoot the puck high."

That didn't matter. What did was the Stars not squandering another powerful offensive effort in which they pummeled Osgood with 36 shots.

"I've had the chance to win the Cup twice," Carbonneau said. "Once you win it once, you want to win it every year. Instead of going on vacation, we get to play another game."

Game 6, June 5 at Dallas
The showdown in Motown turned into a severe Dallas Stars letdown.

Larry Murphy and Fedorov scored for the Red Wings, and Osgood atoned for his shoddy play in Game 5 to help lift Detroit to a 2-0 Game 6 win at Joe Louis Arena, sending the Presidents' Trophy-winning Stars home with a bitter 4-2 series defeat.

The Stars were unable to ride the high of their Game 5 win, as the Red Wings put 14 shots on Belfour during a first-period surge. After Fedorov scored early in the second, Osgood took over, making 19 of his 26 saves over the final two periods to post his second shutout of the series.

"I allowed a couple of long goals in the playoffs, but who cares," Osgood said. "I bounced back. I couldn't wait to play tonight."

Osgood assisted in the Stars elimination, but one of the main reasons was their inability to put the puck in the net while Detroit was shorthanded. Dallas was a meager 1-for-30 in the series on the power play, and even allowed a pair of short-handed tallies.

"That hurt us," Verbeek said. "It helped us win games all year, but we couldn't get any when we needed them at the most crucial times of the game. It's frustrating…you get this close to going to the finals, and then come up short."

"They won, and there's not a lot to talk about," Hatcher said.

The Aftermath
Hatcher, Verbeek and Co. had plenty to talk about a year later, as the Stars captured their first-ever Stanley Cup on Brett Hull's triple-overtime winner in Game 6 against Buffalo, who had lost to Washington in the '98 Eastern Conference finals.

Detroit, meanwhile, went on to sweep the Capitals to win their second straight Stanley Cup in 1998.





- Time for some old school magic.


- The Captain.


- Round 1.


- Round 2.