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Keeping their heads up Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Down 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals and one loss way from the end of their season, the Dallas Stars were keeping their heads up and focusing on getting 'W' in Wednesday's fourth game of the series. "I’m going to go back to the old coach-speak, one game at a time, one period at a time," Stars coach Dave Tippett said following the team's practice in Frisco Tuesday afternoon. "Right now, we have to focus on having a good start in Game 4, come out and get a good start. See if we can get a good lead in the game and play more of our style instead of chasing the game." The Stars, who were keeping their heads up and staying positive on Tuesday, are taking the one game at a time approach. There's been little talk about four wins in a row, but a lot of talk about Game 4 Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center. "We have just one left here at home and just have to get the win. That’s what we discussed. That’s what we’re gearing ourselves for tomorrow, just to try to make this thing interesting," said center Mike Modano. "We do get on a roll and get some confidence going, get a little doubt in their mind, maybe, make it difficult." The Stars know the history about the 3-0 deficit. Only two teams have ever come back from it in Stanley Cup Playoff history; one-hundred-fifty-one others have failed. "You can go two ways. You can give in and let them win the series easily or you can keep your head up, your mindset going, battle it and try to put pressure back on them," said center Brad Richards. "It's our job, we have pride and we are going to do that. We're going to keep battling and try to get a win out of it." But the San Jose Sharks, one of those 151 teams that failed, made a series out of the one against Dallas and almost forced a seventh game by taking the Stars to four overtimes in Game 6. "It changed a lot," Richards said of that series, which took a turn towards the interesting. "It took four overtime periods to finish them off. They got momentum and confidence." And the Stars hope they can get some confidence and momentum with a win Wednesday night to force a fifth game in Detroit on Saturday afternoon. "We just need to get a win and you don't know what kind of roll you can get on," said Richards. A top priority for the Stars is to get a lead, something they haven't had in this series. They've given up the first goal in each of the first three games and although they've drawn even in games, they've never led in the series. That's forced them out of their game and had them chasing the Red Wings. "It's a whole different game when you have the lead, especially in the playoffs," said Richards. "Detroit waits for you in the neutral zone, turns pucks over and you get out of your game plan. That's why it's so important to get that first goal, get a lead, play that way and it will put the chances more in our favor to win the game." But beyond just getting the lead it will take a complete effort from the Stars, who will need all elements of their game working. That's something they haven't had consistently in this series. "We've got to come out as a group and play well as a group. If we do get a lead, stay as that tight team group that we’ve been to make it successful," said Tippett. " You’ve got goaltending, strong defending, capitalizing on chances, strong special teams, those are all things, if you do them well, you can increase that belief system. And you do it short-term, hopefully that continues long-term." But right now the goal is short-term and that is to win Wednesday. Jackson on the Red Wings Stars co-GM Les Jackson said Tuesday you have to give the Detroit Red Wings credit. Jackson was a guest on XM Radio's NHL Live program and was asked if Detroit's 3-0 lead had less to do with what the Stars are doing wrong and more to do with what Detroit is doing right. "I think so. We can make all kinds of excuses. We came off two tough series, we go into the first game and we're not ready to play," said Jackson. "The reality is we have a real good team. They have a group of real good players and then they have another group of guys that are great players. You take [Henrik] Zetterberg and [Pavel] Datsyuk, they are elite players but they play all the hard areas of the ice. You love watching them play because they are so good. "I give that whole organization a lot of credit. Way back when we could spend a whole bunch of money they were a good team. Now, we all spend the same and they are a good team. They're good because they are good, not because of the money. We've got to give them that credit." Injury update Stars forwards Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow, who were both banged up in Game 3 Monday night, did not skate on Tuesday, but they are both expected to play in Game 4 on Wednesday. Stars forward Jere Lehtinen (leg) is doubtful and forward Stu Barnes (concussion-like symptoms) is out. Defenseman Mark Fistric (illness) did not practice Tuesday and is not expected to be available on Wednesday. Practice lines/defensive pairings With Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano not skating Tuesday, the Stars forward line combinations were scrambled around a lot. Here's how it broke down for the most part in practice.
Quotable "If you live, you've got to act like you want to live. That’s what it is. If you think this thing is over and you act like that way, it’s going to be over." Stars coach Dave Tippett Quotable II "When we’re at the top of our game, we feel we make teams make mistakes. We put them in high-low percentage situations and make bad decisions with the puck, and then we seem to have it all the time. We did that against, for the most part, Anaheim and San Jose. And it feels like we’re getting a little bit of a taste of our own medicine right now, where you feel you don’t have much room, you don’t have much space to operate or make plays." Stars center Mike Modano
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