Dallas Stars think return home will provide lift on Home Services

May

Dallas Stars think return home will provide lift

posted by admin in Home Warranty

Goalie Marty Turco believes a return to American Airlines Center for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals should be inspiring for the Stars.

Turco said the Stars, who trail the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0, in the best-of-7 series, look forward to soaking up the aura that’s left over from the four-overtime Game 6 victory that closed out the San Jose Sharks last week.

“You just look to the most recent game,” Turco said of Dallas’ 2-1 win over the Sharks at 1:24 a.m. on a goal by Brenden Morrow. “Our fans sticking around to the wee hours. It was a lot of fun. We’re expecting more grand times for our fans and for us, and we just need it, simple as that, to get back into the series.”

Leading scorer Mike Ribeiro will be available for the Stars at 7 p.m. today as they try to change the momentum.

The NHL fined Ribeiro and Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood for their altercation at the end of Game 2 on Saturday, but neither was suspended. Osgood poked Ribeiro in the face with the butt end of his stick, and Ribeiro retaliated with a two-handed stick slash across the goalie’s chest.

Stars forward Steve Ott was also fined for punching Detroit’s Kris Draper in an unrelated incident.

Facing a Detroit team that has won eight straight, Dallas needs to get to work. A team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit only three times in NHL playoff history.

And while Ribeiro’s status never officially changed, the fact that he could have been suspended and wasn’t can be seen as a positive for the Stars.

“I think we anticipated he would be a player, and he is a player, so we move on,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “If you want to perceive that as a positive, I guess you could do that.”

Though the fracas at the end of Game 2 could dial up the emotion in the series, Tippett said the Stars need to walk a fine line between emotion and discipline.

“This is really no different than the first two series,” Tippett said. “We have to play hard, but we have to play smart. That’s exactly what we did against Anaheim and San Jose. We are going to push hard and skate hard and try to control the pace, but we have to stay disciplined and not put them on the power play. That’s just smart hockey.”

“Home ice is there for a reason,” Turco said. “We’ve been growing in this series against these guys. We know it’s been a lot closer than anybody gives us credit for. That’s a good feeling to have in the locker room, regardless of what others say.”

While it’s been awhile since the Red Wings struggled in any regard, their two losses in the playoffs came on the road in Games 3 and 4 of their first-round series with Nashville. The Stars hope they can duplicate what the Predators did and inject some life into this series.

“The reality is, we are where we are in the series,” Turco said. “But immediately after the game in Detroit, we felt the most confidence. We know it’s a hole we dug, but it’s one that we’re pretty sure we can get out of, and we’re going to need to at home with our fans.”