Modano keys Stars’ 3-2 win over Colorado
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Stars center Mike Modano is getting some extra rest and it is paying dividends. Modano scored two goals Friday night, including the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 at American Airlines Center.
"I've been feeling much better lately," said Modano. "I think it's just a combination of some valuable time off that (head coach Marc Crawford) has given me, and just being able to rest up, and primarily focus on the games."
Modano has scored six goals in the last eight games and Friday night was his first multi-goal effort of the season. He led the Stars with five shots on goal and had a game-high three takeaways.
"He's playing just terrific hockey for us right now," said Crawford. "He's got some real chemistry going with Toby Petersen, we saw that over the last month. Mo is just such an experienced player that when he has a feel for people, he does have terrific vision. You combine terrific vision with some energy and a player that has that kind of skill, you're going to have good things happen.
"Not only did he get the winning goal for us, but I thought he was a real force on the bench. He's been through these types of battles and he was a calming influence for us on the bench as well. We'll continue to try and get as much out of him as we can in games."
The Stars have won five of their last seven games overall and they continue to roll at the AAC, where they have won five straight, eight of nine and are 13-2-2 in the last 17. Friday's win kept them within two points of eighth place in the Western Conference.
"Guys really stepped up," said Stars forward Steve Ott. "We've kind of had a playoff mentality lately. We've got to continue to get points and get back in this race. For some reason we've been playing excellent at home and we had another one tonight."
Alex Auld got another start in net for the Stars and he stopped 24 of 26 shots to win his sixth straight start at home.
"He's making the big stops and giving us a chance to win every night, and that's what we need," said Stars forward Brian Sutherby.
The Stars took the lead early in the first when Jamie Benn deflected an Ott shot past Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson, but the Avalanche answered 36 seconds later when Matt Duchene scored off the rush. Modano gave the Stars the lead at 7:55 of the first when Modano circled around the Colorado net and had his centering pass go in the net off a Colorado defender. T.J. Galiardi tied the game for Colorado in the second. Modano got the game-winner at 7:01 of the third when he won a faceoff and knocked home the rebound of a Karlis Skrastins shot.
Colorado, which lost 1-0 to Minnesota Thursday night, has now dropped two straight after putting together a six-game winning streak.
"I think our energy level wasn't probably where it needed to be from the start of the game," said Colorado head coach Joe Sacco. "We talked about having a good start. We just didn't play well enough, that's the bottom line. I thought that overall, we had an average game tonight. We've just got to find a way to get out of this right now."
The Stars continue their homestand Sunday when they take on Dave Tippett's Phoenix Coyotes.
| Game Recap |
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There were three goals scored
on the first four shots of the game, with the Stars getting two
of those goals and Colorado getting one.
After missing on a chance on the first shift of the game, Jamie Benn opened the scoring at 3:18 of the first when he got a stick on a Steve Ott shot from the right circle. The Avalanche answered 36 seconds later when Matt Duchene took a pass from Brandon Yip, cut into the slot and ripped a shot past Stars goalie Alex Auld to make it a 1-1 game. The Stars got their lead back at the 7:55 mark when Mike Modano hit the Avalanche zone with speed, circled around the net and had his centering pass go of Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey and past Colorado goalie Craig Anderson. Colorado pulled even at 10:56 of the second when Yip got a puck on net and T.J. Galiardi got the puck and slipped it past Auld. Modano produced the game-winner at 7:01 of the third period. After Modano won an offensive zone draw, he knocked home the rebound of a Karlis Skrastins shot from the point. |
| Quotable |
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"We weren't as fatigued,
first and foremost, and I thought we played a little bit more
physically tonight. We were led by our captain, Brenden Morrow
was just a real physical force tonight, he had several big hits.
I thought Ott was very good in that domain as well. Robidas on
defense was a guy that not only did a terrific job of keeping
people to the outside, but eliminated people, separated them
from the puck and did something with the puck as well. We had
other guys that really battled like that tonight. I thought that
Fistric was good in that aspect of the game and so was Grossman.
They had a tough job tonight; they kept the line of Stastny off
the scoreboard and anytime you can do that, you've done your
job. - Stars head coach Marc Crawford on the difference between
Friday's game against Colorado and Sunday's game against
Colorado "He was flying out there, and when he's going like that, it gets everyone going. It was a huge goal for him at the end, and Auldy was big and we held on." - Stars forward Brian Sutherby on Mike Modano "It's been a real Achilles' heel for us all season long, trying to keep those goals-against down to a minimum. We're really good with discipline, as far as penalties against for most of the season, so those are areas that we feel we can always stay at the top of, and not taking lazy penalties. But certainly, the goals-against has been a real issue that we've addressed day in and day out. If those are better, we seem to be a better-rounded team. Obviously, it's given us some opportunities to win some games." - Stars center Mike Modano on the Stars' team defense "They play a hard-nosed game here. They have their fans behind them and have a lot of energy here. Obviously, they played a lot more physical tonight than a couple of nights ago." - Colorado goalie Craig Anderson on the Stars |
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