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Looking to get over the hump at The Joe Friday, May 16, 2008 Heading into the Western Conference Finals the Dallas Stars knew they'd have to win a game at Joe Louis Arena to win the series. Now, they have to win two there to take the series. But first, they have to win one to stay alive. "We're still in the same situation where we have to win to stay alive and our desperation levels will still be very high," said coach Dave Tippett. "Hopefully we can come in here and get ourselves a win." It will be a big challenge. "They play great in their building. They've always had a phenomenal home record," said Stars forward Steve Ott. "But we're just happy to in the situation, to be alive, stay alive and keep running with this." The Red Wings have been a tough nut to crack at home in these playoffs. They are 7-0 so far and have outscored their opponents 24-10 in the process. The Stars' recent history at the Joe hasn't been fruitful. They lost both regular season games in Detroit this season and have just two wins there in the last five seasons. The playoff story is much worse. The Stars have lost ten straight playoff games in Detroit dating back to the Minnesota days. The last postseason win in Detroit came on April 20, 1992. Among the current group of Stars, no one seems to symbolize the woes at The Joe more than goalie Marty Turco, who is 0-9-2 in Detroit, including both playoffs and regular season. Turco was asked Friday a Canadian television photographer asked him if some kind of curse was hanging over him in Detroit. "No," Turco said along with an icy stare before he moved onto the next question. Turco is coming off a solid 33-save performance in Game 4 against the Red Wings, a possible building block for Saturday's game. "That's a game that he can build off," said Tippett. "You're playing at home, but you're playing Detroit and everybody makes a lot about he can't win against Detroit. He played very well and he won a game. He should be able to take that momentum into this game. That's what we're hoping for." And there's also hope that Turco can write a new chapter in Detroit. Despite what has happened in past games at The Joe, there is always the next game. "The good thing about sports is that you always have a chance to redeem yourself, and challenge yourself in new ways," said Stars center Mike Modano. "That's been his demon the last little while and he another opportunity tomorrow to kind of erase that." Turco's teammates and his coach point out that while Turco's record hasn't been stellar in Detroit, neither has the team's. "Well, if he's 0-9-2, my record can't be that great here either," a smiling Brenden Morrow told reporters after the Stars arrived in Detroit. Tippett said the optimistic view is that both Turco and the team are due for some success there and Saturday would be a good time to deliver. "Our team success hasn't been very good there, so it's all the above," said Tippett. "I don't think you can pin those losses on Marty. Could he have been better in some of those games? Sure, but there are a lot of players that could have been better. It's a situation where we just haven't got the job done there. If you look at it from the glass half-full, we are overdue. "I think we are overdue today." And taking care of that past due notice would produce an interesting turn in this series, forcing a Game 6 in Dallas on Monday night and putting the pressure on the Red Wings. The Stars know that routine, having felt the pressure when San Jose won two straight against the Stars in the last series to force a sixth game. "San Jose definitely put the pressure on us," said Ott. "If you said there was no pressure there, you'd be lying. And we were going to Game 6 in our own building. It's hard to get to the what ifs, but if we get to Game 6 at home we are going to be playing with confidence and be a tough team." But before they get to that the Stars and Turco have to exorcise some of those demons in Detroit. "When there's no tomorrow," said Tippett, "it's a good day to get the bugaboo off." Tippett on playing Petersen vs. Detroit's top line One of the Stars' key adjustments in Game 4 was putting center Toby Petersen's line - with Joel Lundqvist and Loui Eriksson on the wings - head-to-head with Detroit's top line of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom. Stars coach Dave Tippett was asked about the move on Friday and the strategy behind it. "What we were trying to do there, Petersen is a smart player that plays the game with a great deal of pace. He's really quick," said Tippett. "Zetterberg and Datsyuk, Zetterberg in particular, he's so tenacious, plays the game so fast, you need somebody that can keep up with that. We felt Petersen could give us a heck of a game in that regard." Morrow on play near the crease There will be a lot of eyes on play near the crease Saturday and Stars captain Brenden Morrow likes to go there, especially when the Stars are the on the power play. He was asked Friday if all the attention will affect his play in that area. "No," he responded. "There might be some issues, but I am going to do my best to stay out of the blue. I don't get in there very often. I am not as good at it as [Tomas] Holmstrom is. I think I'll go about my business the same way." Practice lines The practice lines on Friday were the same as those used to start Wednesday's game. The defensive combinations were mixed during the practice.
Injury report
Quotable "The [first goal] is very important. Scoring first, I think they play a little bit different game. They have in the past. If we can get that first one it will put pressure on them in their building. We'll take it and run with it. And if not, then we have to look to get back in the game." Stars forward Steve Ott on the importance of the first goal when playing the Red Wings Quotable II "I wouldn't say that." Stars captain Brenden Morrow, when asked if a smaller butt is the reason he seems to get in less trouble around the crease than Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom
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