MONTREAL - Prior to the Western Conference final, many experts were warning NHL fans not to underestimate the Dallas Stars, thanks in large part due to goaltender Marty Turco's heroics.

View Large

Goaltender Marty Turco #35 of the Dallas Stars reacts after allowing a first period power play goal to Brian Rafalski #28 of the Detroit Red Wings during game one of the Western Conference Finals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena on May 8, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan.

Photograph by : Getty

ARTICLE TOOLS

• Printer friendly
• E-mail

Font:

• *
• *
• *
• *

The Stars had played so well eliminating the heavily favoured Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks that the Presidents' Cup-winning Detroit Red Wings had better be on their toes.

Now, following Monday's 5-2 loss at home to Detroit, the Stars trail the Red Wings 3-0 in their best-of-seven series. What you have is Dallas down and almost out.

Maybe the Stars can sneak out a win at home Wednesday, but common sense dictates that to do so, they'll have to play a lot better than they have in the first three games. Turco will have to play better. All of his colleagues will have to play better.

It's all in the numbers.

Or, as Dallas centre Brad Richards told the Dallas Morning News after Monday's one-sided game: "I don't know if we're overmatched. They're causing us to do things we don't want to do."

The teams have played nine periods, and the Stars have failed to outshoot the Red Wings in any of them. They've been outshot 31-21 and 34-18 in the first two games in Detroit, and 21-18 in Game 3 at home. They've delivered double-digit figures in only one of the periods, when they were outshot 13-11 in the second period of Game 1. They've been outshot 86-57, outscored 11-4.

Overmatched? Looks like it.

It's all about control. You don't get shots and you don't score goals when the other team has the puck most of the game - and thus far, the Red Wings have owned it.

It's all about composure.

The Red Wings don't get rattled when the opposition scores a goal. What they do is work harder, and one example of it occurred when Pavel Datsyuk opened the scoring with the first goal of his first career playoff hat trick in the game's 10th minute. Made it look easy. Nicklas Grossman scored the tying goal roughly six minutes later, which brought the Dallas crowd back into it. Only 37 seconds later, Datsyuk scored his second goal.

The Dallas players could be excused for playing poorly in the series opener at Detroit, only four days after their fourth-overtime victory over the Sharks, following which people started talking Conn Smythe Trophy for Turco's 61 stops. They played better, although not good enough, in the second game, and probably had their best period of the three games during the first 20 minutes on Monday. They even managed to hold the Red Wings to a 2-2 tie for the first 23:47, but Detroit went ahead 3-2 in the 12th minute of the second period and Henrik Zetterberg put it away with a short-handed goal in the second minute of the final period on a night when he and linemate Datsyuk owned the Stars. 

"When you give them opportunities like we did, they're going to make you pay for them," Dallas captain Brenden Morrow said. "Are they beatable? Yeah. Do we have to play a lot better than we are? Absolutely."

"You're pretty much expected to play a mistake-free game," added the Stars' Mike Modano.

"Everybody has to be at such a high level. You fight those feelings. You can't get three games back in one game. It's an uphill task, and it's obviously very rare, but it's been done."

Based on the first three games, Modano is dreaming in technicolour.

Montreal Gazette

rfisher@thegazette.canwest.com