A solid win over the Red Wings

Well, that was a solid win over the Wings. The game basically turned on those early power plays because up to that point it was a pretty fast paced game and pretty even up to that point. A lot like the last game in Detroit, except the Red Wings got the two quick goals. This time it was the Stars thanks to the power play.

I didn’t think the power play was bad Tuesday night because, even though it didn’t score, it created chances. On that first goal, Steve Ott’s deflection, which is one of those plays that can go either way, found the back of the net and they were off and running. The power play has been creating chances, moving the puck well and doing a lot of good things lately and everything came together in Detroit.

The penalty kill was very good too and that gave the Stars the big edge in the special teams battle, and that was the difference in the game.

The Stars may have gotten a break on the Tomas Holmstrom interference call that negated the Nick Lidstrom goal that would have made it 4-3 late in the third. Wings score there and it’s a much different game, but that’s life. Holmstrom lives on the edge there at the crease and he’s going to get some reputation calls. That may have been one.

I thought the third period was excellent from the Stars standpoint. I thought the Red Wings hand them on their heels a little bit in the second period, but the Stars completely shut them down in the third. They gave Detroit very little time and space, and the Wings ended up with four shots on goal. That’s shutting it down and protecting a lead. That’s a good sign.

It was a solid team effort, but I’ll mention a few guys. Marty Turco was rock solid again. He’s really coming around and that’s a big plus. I know he had the playoff win in Detroit last year but it was still nice to see him finally get the regular season win there.

Can’t say enough about Ott, who is really doing an excellent job on the line with Mike Ribeiro. He’s really fit in well there with Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen. That’s been an excellent line. Ott often doesn’t get enough credit for a lot of the stuff he does out there beyond the agitating stuff. He’s a good player. He’s getting a top six role right now and he’s delivering.

It was nice to see Chris Conner score a goal on a heck of a shot.

I thought Mike Modano had a pretty strong game. Nothing fancy, but a lot of good, hard work out there.

Darryl Sydor had a couple of big plays. He had a great keep at the blue line just before the Loui Eriksson goal. No assist on a play like that, but there’s no goal without the play he made. He also had the nice play to hel keep the Dan Cleary shot from crossing the goal line in the second period.

As for the standings, the Stars join a bunch of teams - four others to be exact - stacked up at 51 points. They are technically in ninth place because of tie breakers when you go on a points based look. If you go strictly with points percentage, they are tied for fifth with Edmonton and Minnesota, who still have an advantage based on the number of wins.

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