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Stars shutout Avalanche 3-0, end three-game slide Sunday, March 09, 2008 Trying to shake off a three-game losing streak and move back into first place in the Pacific Division, the Dallas Stars rolled out a complete 60-minute performance Sunday night, beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 at the American Airlines Center. "For our team to be successful - and we can have all the skill in the world - we have to check well. And that was the difference in the game tonight," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "Tonight we checked well and that started with our top players." The Stars were relentless from the start, holding Colorado to just one shot in the first period and that came late in the frame. The Stars, who had some players knocked around in Saturday's loss in Denver pushed back Sunday night, with Steve Ott and Trevor Daley dropping the glove in spirited fights. "In [Saturday's] game we had three guys laid out on the ice and no response," said Tippett. "Tonight we had response all over the place. That's about the desperation you need." Tippett juggled his forward lines for the game, putting captain Brenden Morrow, Mike Modano and recently acquired Brad Richards together as his top trio and those three players accounted for two goals. Richards scored one and the line set up another one, scored by Stephane Robidas. "When you first get traded a few losses in a row it starts to make you think a little bit," said Richards, who was acquired by the Stars at the trade deadline on February 26. "It was good to get back on track tonight." Richards had a goal and an assist, Modano had two assists and Morrow had one assist in the game. "Those two guys are smart players and they both bring something a little different to the line. It worked out good," said Richards. "I don't know them that well, but there are some plays we started to make and we can build on that." Stu Barnes also scored for the Stars, who got a 19-save performance from Marty Turco. It was Turco's third shutout of the season. With the win the Stars moved one point ahead the San Jose Sharks, who had taken temporary hold of first place in the Pacific Division with their ninth straight win earlier in the day. Colorado had a six-game winning streak snapped and missed out on a chance to move into first place in the incredibly tight Northwest Division. "They came out hard and Turco made the saves when he had to, but at the same time, we didn't play our best game,'' Colorado defenseman Kurt Sauer said. "We've got to move the puck better and make smarter plays.'' The Stars came out on fire in the first period, dominating play, outshooting the Avalanche 12-1 and, more important, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The Stars opened the scoring 3:56 in with a power play goal. Just moments after Jose Theodore made a spectacular glove save on Daley, Barnes scored off a rebound just as their power play was expiring to take a 1-0 lead. The Stars made it 2-0 when Modano and Richards combined to set up Robidas, who scored off a blast from the right point at the 5:25 mark of the period. "The last week and a half we've been giving up leads and getting scored on. We haven't had too many hot starts, so it was a sight for sore eyes," Turco said. The Stars extended the lead to 3-0 when Modano, Morrow and Richards broke out on a three-on-two and Richards finished it off with a shot from the right circle at 6:55 of the second period. Colorado lifted Theodore after two periods and Peter Budaj played the final period, which was scoreless. "I think they were just a little bit better than us," Colorado center Joe Sakic said. "They were skating, they were hard on the puck, they didn't give us any room." Notes: The Stars called up defenseman Dan Jancevski from Iowa Sunday and he played in the game, replacing Matt Niskanen, who was held out due to a sore foot. The Stars were also without defenseman Philippe Boucher (shoulder) and Sergei Zubov (foot/groin). Colorado was down to four defensemen by the end of the game. Ruslan Salei left the game after being injured in a fight with Steve Ott and Jordan Leopold left the game after being hit by Ott.
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