Stars look for strong start out of break
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
After four days of practice the Dallas Stars are ready to hit the ice for their first game coming out of the Olympic break when they host the Los Angels Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center. It kicks off a stretch of 21 games in 40 days as they try to fight their into the top eight in the Western Conference and a playoff spot.
If you go by points, right now they are in tenth place and two points out of eighth place. They were in eighth place based on points percentage coming out of the break, but were back in ninth in that category after Detroit beat Colorado on Monday night.
But where they are right now doesn't matter. It's where they are at the end of the season. And the Stars think a strong start to this post-Olympic stretch run is key.
"It's going to be a great ride. We've positioned ourselves to have a good run at it. It starts Tuesday night. We've got to have a great start," Stars coach Marc Crawford said after Monday's practice in Frisco. "I talked to the guys today and it's very much like the start of the season. You can get some points at the start of the season, which are very, very important, if you play a simple game and if you play with a lot intensity and emotion.
"That's what we are going to concentrate on. We want emotion. We want intensity. We also wan to make sure that our execution, in the simplest form, is at a high level. I think that's what ultimately will allow us to be successful in these early games off of the break."
The schedule could be a major advantage for the Stars putting together a strong run coming out of the break. Eight of their first 11 games are at home, where they are 10-2-0 in their last 12 and 15-3-2 in their last 20.
"I think all the guys are ready. We want to get off to a strong start," said forward Steve Ott. "It's almost like a new season after missing almost three weeks. These are valuable, valuable points. We have a lot of home games. I think we can put together a nice run, grab a playoff spot and see what we can do."
Turco's roll
The Stars were able to position themselves well for the stretch run in large part because of the play of goalie Marty Turco, who posted a 4-1-1 record, 1.15 goals against average and .967 save percentage over the team's final six games before the break.
"Some how it's just coming together for him. He's always been a great reaction goaltender. When he's seeing the puck and he's feeling comfortable and loose he seems to play his best hockey. He's done that over the last two weeks [before the break]," said Stars coach Marc Crawford. "If you look back at it, we knew our team was fatigued and we knew Marty was fatigued. I think you guys remember me saying the biggest thing he needed was rest. In a funny way maybe that week Alex [Auld] played gave him that rest that he needed, and he's been razor sharp from that point on."
Turco was particularly sharp in his two starts after the Stars acquired Kari Lehtonen from the Atlanta Thrashers, stopping 73 of 74 shots in wins at Calgary and Phoenix.
"This year when Alex pushed him he played real well," said Crawford. "You can't argue with the way he has played since we've made the acquisition so maybe in a strange sort of way, he needs that push."
The acquisition of Lehtonen fueled speculation that Turco could be dealt before Wednesday's trade deadline, but with the Stars putting Auld on waivers and then re-entry waivers, where he was claimed by the New York Rangers over the weekend, the chances of Turco being moved have dropped to near zero.
"There's always pressure," said Turco. "The pressure of where this team is, that's what I look at every day. It's really the only thing I look at, where the team sits in the standings. How we've been playing and what I can do. It was a tough stretch there at the end of December and most of January wasn't great. I got an opportunity to rest and not play because Alex was playing great. I worked on things and got healthy, got back out there and do what I do. It's nothing special but for what we need, we need everybody, including the goalies, to be special."
Stars goaltending coach Mike Valley offered his take on Turco's play heading into the break.
"I think Marty's been good a lot this season. Most of his game has been there," Valley said. "I think there have been times where there's been a little bit of inconsistency. He knows that. There have been some goals that shouldn't have gone in. The thing about Marty is he is such a positive guy, he stays positive and he works hard. He trusts that the work he puts in is going to pay off.
"I think you saw him get into a little bit of a flow and a lot of that is confidence. He's a very confident individual, but all of sudden when you start making those saves that maybe you weren't supposed to make it just builds."
Injury update: Ott ready to go
Stars forward Steve Ott, who had an emergency appendectomy just before the Olympic break, pronounced himself ready to go following Monday morning's practice in Frisco. And Monday afternoon the Stars activated Ott from injured reserve.
"Having Steve Ott ready to come back is huge and having him under contract is even better," said Stars coach Marc Crawford.
Defenseman Mark Fistric (knee) practiced on Monday and is questionable for Tuesday.
"He practiced again today, so that's positive. I think we'll be careful with him here," said Crawford. "He's a possibility for [Tuesday]. We'll see how he is. I would think he is much more prepared to be maybe ready for the Thursday game.
Forward Brian Sutherby (shoulder) also practiced but is in the same boat as Fistric, according to Crawford.
"He's probably going to need a little bit more time," said Crawford. "He tried contact today, but there wasn't really an enormous amount of contact where he could test his shoulder."
