Stars-Capitals thoughts
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Big win, obviously and a big two points. Marty Turco was the difference maker. He was brilliant. He kept them in the game through the first two periods, stopping 40 of 42 shots and there were a lot of sharp saves and he did a nice job of controlling things when the play got close around his net.
As lopsided as the shots were through the first two periods (42-16), the Stars were still hanging around the game. They even had some pretty good chances early in the game, but just couldn’t finish them off. Brenden Morrow had one and Loui Eriksson had a couple.
When it’s a 2-0 game that third goal is huge and when the trailing team can get it the entire complexion of the game can change, regardless of what’s happened leading up to the 2-0 score. When Brad Richards scored on that power play, the momentum shifted big time. The Stars got life and the huge shot differential became irrelevant. It was a one shot game. Another power play, Trevor Daley scores and it’s a tie game, back to square one basically.
On the power play, it was pretty simple. Pucks and people to the net. Both times the puck got through the people and past the goalie. Nothing fancy on either one.
In the grand scheme of things, who knows what this game will mean. What happens down the road will dictate that. Right now it’s a big win and two crucial points the Stars desperately needed to keep pace in the playoff race. It should also be a shot of confidence for a team that needed some after getting lit up in its first three games out of the Olympic break. They bent a little in Washington, but they didn’t break. They rebounded nicely and rallied to beat the best home team in the NHL. There’s nothing like some confidence. We’ll see how it goes Wednesday in Buffalo. The Stars have a chance to make this a very successful road trip leading up to the six-game homestand that follows.
