| No one expects Mike Modano to pick up a Gordie Howe
hat trick, but if he had picked up an assist Sunday
afternoon he could have at least gotten honorable
mention. He did have a goal and a roughing minor after
all.
"I had to get up early. I was a little grumpy,"
Modano joked after the game.
But Modano wasn't in a joking mood after Kings
forward Dustin Brown, whom he praised as a good player
who can be frustrating to play against, rubbed him out
along the boards in the second period.
Modano responded by going after Brown, taking a
roughing minor and setting off a sequence that saw Jeff
Halpern take an instigator and fighting major for going
after Brown.
"I think it's a good sign for me," Modano said of his
response. "It gets me in the game. To hit and be hit,
it's the latter that usually gets me going. It gets me
involved."
And it's that kind of involvement Stars coach Dave
Tippett likes to see from Modano, who can lead in many
ways and that includes responding to physical challenges
from opposing teams.
"He needs to do that. That's something that gets our
game going," said Tippett. "His teammates look at him
and he is physically engaged in the game. We expect
everybody to. He doesn't get a pass because he is Mike
Modano. The more physical and emotional play he can
bring to the game, along with his talent, that just
makes us a better team."
Modano's response which was followed by Halpern's
response and then Krys Barch literally jumping at a
chance to drop the gloves later in the game provided an
emotional lift for a Stars team that was being
physically challenged at time by the Kings.
And the Stars needed everything they could muster to
beat a pesky Kings team that lost its third straight
game in overtime and fifth straight overall.
The Stars did a lot of the little things better and
it ended up earning them another two points in the tight
Western Conference standings.
"We'll take the points," Tippett said. "There was a
lot of stuff happening, some good and some bad. We were
fortunate to get the last goal."
That last goal was the 499th of Modano's career. He
skated into the Los Angeles zone, cut to the middle of
the ice and beat Kings goalie Sean Burke with a wrist
shot from the slot. It was his third goal in the last
five games.
"I've just been feeling good and feeling better on
the ice and skating well," Modano said. "In that sense I
know things are going to we happen, we are going to make
some plays and we are going to get some opportunities."
The Stars did enough little things right to win the
game. Their penalty kill came up huge after the Modano
roughing penalty and Halpern instigator. The Kings ended
up with a full two minutes of five-on-three power play
time, but the Stars were able to kill it off thanks in
part to a couple of big stops by Marty Turco. That was a
huge momentum shift.
The Stars ended up winning 33 of 63 faceoffs on the
night, but three times they were able to turn faceoff
wins in the Los Angeles zone into goals thanks to
Halpern and Jussi Jokinen.
They got a strong game from the line of Niklas
Hagman, Jokinen and Jere Lehtinen. Hagman picked up his
15th goal of the season and Jokinen chipped in two more
assists, giving him 14 points in the last 15 games.
Lehtinen was, well, Lehtinen.
Overall, it wasn't pretty but it was two points. It
was another one of those they found a way to win games
and Modano delivered the big goal and more. |
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