Turco, Stars shutout Thrashers
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Marty Turco got his second shutout of the season and this time he got some goal support and a win. Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott scored goals and Turco stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Stars opened the stretch drive following the All-Star break with a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at the American Airlines Center.
"You're not always striving for shutouts but the guys played awesome," said Turco, whose only other shutout this season came in a 1-0 shootout loss to Phoenix. "It was good to see us get better as the game went on. In the third period, you talk about winning hockey, that's what it was right there. It's the first time I got a shutout this year and won the game. That's pretty nice."
Thirteen of Turco's 25 saves came in the third period as the Stars protected a 2-0 lead and the Thrashers got some good looks at the net.
"Marty played very well," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "I thought their goalie (Kari Lehtonen) made some unbelievable saves to keep them in the game. When Marty needed to be there he was there very strong for us."
Turco's best stop on the night came when he made a glove save on a point blank shot by Ilya Kovalchuk in the first period with the Stars up 1-0. He had several good stops in the third, including one on Bryan Little, Atlanta's top goal scorer, who got off a wide open shot from the slot. He also made a sharp save on Rich Peverley rebound attempt in the third period. In the end, he came away with his 35th career shutout.
"Marty's a proven guy. There's nobody that wants it more on a nightly basis than Marty," said Ott. "He's a goalie but he's a captain on our team and the leadership is showing through."
The Stars remained in 11th place in the Western Conference following the win, but they did move to within two points of 8th place by moving three games over .500 for the first time this season.
"Points are so valuable," said Tippett. "You have to look at this as a home game that you have to win."
The Stars improved to 8-1-1 in their last ten games at the AAC and are now 12-6-4 overall at home.
The Stars took the lead just 3:48 into the game when Mike Ribeiro's shot from a sharp angle created a rebound that bounced off Lehtinen's chest and into the net.
"I just threw the puck at the net and he was driving the net," said Ribeiro, who had two assists in the game. "We'll take anything right now. We need the two points."
Ribeiro helped set up the Stars' second goal, which came 28 seconds into the second period. He sent a pass to Trevor Daley, who set up Ott in front of the net.
The Stars had plenty of chances to make it much more than a 2-0 game. They had five power play chances, including a five-on-three for 1:39 and back-to-back power plays that included another brief two-man advantage, but couldn't cash in on the chances.
"Tonight was frustrating because early on in the power plays we had some great opportunities but we didn't score," said Tippett. "We've got to continue to pound away at it. You might not score on it but you can't let it take energy away from you."
The biggest obstacle for the Stars in the game was the goaltending of Atlanta's Lehtonen, who came up with several spectacular saves including a great glove shot on a point blank chance by Ribeiro. But Lehtonen didn't get much support in the first period periods, when the Stars outshot the Thrashers 25-12.
"I don't think we were awake the first two periods," Lehtonen said.
And by the time they did wake up it was too little, too late. Turco made sure of that.
"If we can play like this, good things will happen," said Turco.
| First Period |
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The Stars struck first 3:48 into the game when Mike Ribeiro put a shot on net from a sharp angle, the rebound off Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen bounced off Stars forward Jere Lehtinen and into the net. The Stars had a chance to extend the lead with 1;39 of five-on-three power play time, but couldn't take advantage. Marty Turco had the save of the period, making a glove save on a point blank shot by Ilya Kovalchuk to keep it a 1-0 game. The Stars also killed off an Atlanta power play in the period. Score after first period: Dallas 1, Atlanta 0 |
| Second Period |
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The Stars made it a 2-0 game just 28 seconds into the second. With a penalty call coming on the Thrashers, Trevor Daley got the puck from Ribeiro and set up Steve Ott, who scored from point blank range. The Stars had more chances to extend the lead. They got back-to-back power plays, including a brief five-on-three advantage, but couldn't take advantage. Lehtonen made some big saves to keep it a 2-0 game, including nice stops on Loui Eriksson and Darryl Sydor and a spectacular glove save on a point blank shot by Ribeiro. Score after second period: Dallas 2, Atlanta 0 |
| Third Period |
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Atlanta outshot the Stars 13-8 in the third period but nothing got by Turco, who made several nice stops to preserve his shutout. He had a good stop on an Kovalchuk, who was able to get off a backhander from the side of the crease. He stopped Bryan Little, who got a good shot off from the slot. He made a big stop on a blast from Erik Christensen and then denied a rebound attempt by Rich Peverley. He stopped Eric Perrin in tight in the waning seconds as well. Lehtonen continued to shine at the other end, stopping Ott on a breakaway and denying a couple of point blank chances by Eriksson. Final score: Dallas 2, Atlanta 0 |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
