 |
|
|
|
|
Stars News & Notes: A confident, determined bunch Monday, May 05, 2008 A year ago at this time the Dallas Stars were well into their off season. But this year's Dallas Stars are a confident bunch as they move into the Western Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. They should be. They've already dispatched two teams who were considered Stanley Cup contenders in Anaheim and San Jose. "I look at the way they act and care and feel about each other," said Tippett. "Nobody gave us a chance against Anaheim. Nobody gave us a chance against San Jose. Those guys believe in each other. They believe. And that starts from Brenden [Morrow] just saying 'Come on, jump on my back and we're going.' [Marty Turco] has been right beside him. It's a group of players, their will and effort is just phenomenal." A will to win those individual battles and the belief that that will help put the team in a position to win every game on every night. "There is no secret to what we want to do to compete in hockey games, and that is win our one-on-one battles. That’s our main focus," Morrow said in an recent interview with Andrew's "That’s our main objective going into every game, everything comes from our battle and our compete level and those one-on-one battles." It doesn't hurt to have some motivation driving that will to win those battles. Three straight years of first round exits can help in that department. Morrow said there valuable experiences in last season's loss to Vancouver in round one - Turco's brilliant performance and the team rallying from a 3-1 deficit to force a seventh game. But it was still a loss. "Losing probably drove us a little bit more, made us a little more hungry and made us realize how much more work needed to be done," Morrow said. "Everybody is disappointed when the season ends, especially on that note and with the three straight first round exits. When expectations are so much higher it really drives you. As much as the experience and confidence from that series, losing probably drove us just as much as the experienced gained." But in Morrow's eyes the biggest difference between this year and past years has been execution. Guys are making plays. He and his linemates - Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen - have been one of the best and most productive lines in the playoffs. There have been others. The Stars have been getting contributions from all quarters in the goal scoring department and they have been getting those big plays at the right time. Take Stephane Robidas for example. He was the hero of Game 6 against Anaheim, when he made two big plays early in the third period that game to turn it around. In Game 6 Sunday against San Jose it was Robidas who made a nice play again to set up Morrow's goal in the fourth overtime that finished off the Sharks. "We are just finding ways. Everyone is contributing, scoring goals," said Morrow. "Robidas making plays at key times. Bringing in [Brad] Richards and the plays he’s made and the goals he’s scored. We really haven’t been opportunistic enough in the past. We’ve always been a defensive team that capitalized on mistakes, but now it seems our percentages are a lot higher. When the stakes are higher we are going to capitalize. If we’re up a goal or down a goal, this team is just finding ways to win." Like in overtime, where the Stars won three of the four games that went that route in the series with the San Jose Sharks. "Belief, I guess. I really don't know what would describe it best," Morrow said about the formula for the team's overtime success after Sunday's win. "We just found ways all year long to win hockey games." So far they have found ways to win eight times. The biggest challenge is ahead with the Detroit Red Wings on the horizon. A team that has had the Stars' number in recent years. A team that has had Turco's number. But the Stars, are a confident bunch these days and Turco said there is plenty of belief heading into this series. "We're not just going to sit around and wait to see what kind of game the Red Wings want and let them dictate anything," Turco said on The Ticket Monday afternoon. "We're going to be the ones of destiny and control, and continue to believe that our game is more than good enough. If we all pull our weight we will be able to beat these guys. You've got to have that feeling and we do, so it is more than possible." Modano on the Red Wings Stars center Mike Modano made an appearance on the ESPN 103.3's Michael Irvin Show Monday afternoon, and Irvin asked Modano about the upcoming series with the Detroit Red Wings, "Just tons of skill," Modano told Irvin. "They have some world class skill. They have some Europeans who are probably some of the best players in the world right now. They've got a goalie (Chris Osgood), who is unbeaten since he has taken over for Dominik Hasek. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom are very talented very talented. They are very deep, have some good skill and speed. "It's going to be a tough series for us. It's going to depend on how well we play defense and take advantage of our opportunities when we get on the power play. It's going to be tight. There is not going to be a lot of room. You have to be very patient and not get discouraged if offense doesn't come." Series schedule update The Stars-Red Wings schedule was updated Monday with start times and TV coverage. Six of the seven games will be carried exclusively in the U.S. by Versus. Game 5, which is a Saturday afternoon tilt in Detroit, will be broadcast nationally by NBC.
Stars Notes
Quotable "Your teams are always made up down the middle. To have Ribeiro, Richards and Modano in our lineup makes it a pretty good three guys coming at you." Stars co-GM Brett Hull in an interview with the Canadian Press
|
|
Indicates Subscriber only
content