"It's probably the best I've felt in this building ever," Turco said.

And his played mirrored the way he felt as he put to rest those questions about his inability to win in Detroit and Joe Louis Arena. Turco said the confidence was there and he knew the win would come.

"It's kind of an inner belief that you have, but more importantly you need to be successful," Turco said.. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind it would happen. Wasn't any better time than now."

"He came in here and had a real tough time in here in past years, and he just put it all behind him tonight," Stars assistant coach Mark Lamb told CBC Sports.

Turco, who won for the first time in 12 decisions at The Joe, was outstanding at not only stopping the puck, but moving the puck as well. He helped set up both Dallas goals, moving the puck up ice and catching Detroit on changes.

He came up with 38 saves, including some big ones early to keep the Red Wings from taking the early lead. His stop on Dan Cleary a little more than a minute into the game was huge.

He caught the Red Wings on a line change when he moved the puck up the ice to Brad Richards to help put the Stars on the rush, and a pretty pass by Richards led to a Trevor Daley goal, and the early lead went to the Stars.

"He's the best in the game at it," Daley said said of Turco's puckhandling. "He's like a third defenseman because he passes it better than most of us."

Even on the Red Wings' lone goal of the game Turco made a great initial stop on Jiri Hudler before the Detroit forward to the rebound and was able to get into the net.

Then he moved the puck again up the ice in the second period, got a good bounce and the puck went to Joel Lundqvist, who scored on a two-on-one rush as the Red Wings got caught in a bad change to give the Stars a 2-1 lead that would hold up for the remaining 33:56 of the game.

But it was more than Turco. It was a complete team effort for the Stars who, although they were outshot badly in the game, seemed to be playing with a great deal of poise and confidence. They won a lot of the individual battles. And they kept the Red Wings top line off the scoreboard for the first time in the series.

"Winning the one-on-one battles were key for us last game," said Daley. "That top line is really talented. We had a hard match on them the last three games. I think we've done a good job on them."

The Stars, despite being outshot 39-21 in the game, seemed to be the better team, much the same way they were in their win Wednesday night. They looked like the confident team, while the Red Wings looked a little rattled and frustrated. That frustration was symbolized by Tomas Holmstrom taking a late roughing penalty for hitting someone on the Dallas bench with 7:40 to go and the Wings down a goal.

"To call that an undisciplined play would be an understatement," Stars center Steve Ott said. "We're putting the pressure on them."

The win is a huge one for the Stars, who now have two straight wins in the series and a Game 6 on their home ice Monday night. Momentum is trending their way and so is the confidence factor. And they expect a raucous crowd at the American Airlines Center Monday night.

"We expect a big buzz. Dallas has needed something with their sports teams," said Morrow. "With the Mavericks and us, our upsets in the first rounds, this is pretty deep for their franchises. We expect a lot of excitement. It's up to us to go give them something to cheer about."

• Marty Turco comes up with a big stop on Dan Cleary early in the game to prevent the Red Wings from taking the early lead.
   
• Turco moves the puck up the ice to Brad Richards to trigger a Stars rush. Richards then sets up Trevor Daley, whose goal at 9:21 gives the Stars the first goal of the game.
   
• With the game tied 1-1, the Stars kill off a Detroit power play early in second period.
   
• Turco clears the puck up the middle, it's deflected and goes to Lundqvist, who scores the game-winning goal off the rush at 6:04 of the second period. It was a two-on-one break for the Stars because of a bad change by the Red Wings' defense.