Five for Fighting

What have we learned?

First, let me state that this is not a pick-on-the-Stars entry. But, here's what we know now:

    If you play with fire you get burned. The Stars weren't at their best against the Blues on Saturday, but they escaped. They weren't at their best tonight, and they didn't escape.
   My hunches stink. Remember I said I had a feeling some Star was going to have a big game? Well, not so good. I guess I can count Marty Turco's performance, because he did keep them in it.
   The Stars are tapped out, no doubt about it. They'll enjoy tomorrow's off day before heading on the road, where they've been very, very good.
   No matter how good the Stars have been, the Pacific is still tight. One point between them and San Jose after all the victories they've tallied in the past month. Unbelievable. That's why it's considered the best division all the time.
   But it has been a great December in Starsland, hasn't it? 10 victories, one away from the number they set in the month back in 1998-99, and we all remember what happened that year don't we?

   Anyway, it's New Year's Eve. Enjoy ringing in the New Year, however you choose to do it. I wish the best for all of you in 2008, and be careful out there tonight.

Dumont cashes in

It was bound to happen, the way the Predators have been playing, which is a lot better than how the Stars have been doing. J.P. Dumont gets one past Marty Turco after much work, as the Predators take a 1-0 lead at 16:42 in the second period.

The goal comes on the 22nd shot that Turco's had to face in this game already. He's been great, and he's had to be because the Preds have been around him way too much tonight.

Eh

Good goaltending in the first frame, but otherwise there wasn't a lot to talk about. Brace yourself, folks, there could be a lot of penalties tonight if the first is any indication.

The Stars' power play has suddenly become shaky. Not sure what's happened, but they're still looking for their first shot on the man advantage tonight.

The opposing goalie

Anyone remember him? Anyone? Yep, that's Dan Ellis, who prior to the 2006-07 season was competing with Mike Smith to get that No. 2 job with the Stars. Ellis, now with the Preds, has been a good goaltender for his new team and has wrestled away more of the time from Chris Mason.

So far, he's not looking too shabby tonight.

The rare penalty shot

First one I've seen this year, anyway.

Scott Nichol had gotten hooked by Sergei Zubov on a breakaway and Nichol got the penalty shot. But he didn't even get a good one off, and Marty Turco had no problem saving a shot that I think may have hit the side of the net anyway.

Tonight's lines

Some minor changes due to Jokinen's injury:

Ott-Halpern-Eriksson
Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen
Hagman-Modano-Conner
Lundqvist-Barnes-Barch

Marty in tonight

Turco in goal for the New Year's Eve contest. There wasn't much of an update on Jokinen this morning, because his MRI results hadn't come back yet. We're talking at least a week, though, possibly more, on how long he's out.

I have a feeling about tonight's game. Can't put my finger on it, but I think a Stars player is going to have a big night. Like I said, just a hunch. Not based on anything in particular.

Resolution time!

Yes, kids, it's that time of year. Almost, anyway. Time to make those New Year's resolutions, those little promises to oneself.

So in a little departure from the hockey world, if but for a moment, what's your big resolution?

Sunday update

OK, I'll get this in before all attention goes to the Cowboys game...

Jussi Jokinen did not practice today, as he suffered a knee "tweak" on Saturday night. He will have an MRI on it tomorrow to find out the extent of the injury. The lines were different today, as a result, with Hagman, Modano and Chris Conner together on the second line. Halpern was back with Ott and Eriksson.

Norstrom had a good day and he is a go for tomorrow night's game. The Stars will keep Fistric around at least through the weekend.

That's about it, for now. I'll be back later to chat about this crazy little division called the Pacific.

Crazy, crazy

Yeah, this certainly won't stack up as the Stars' best 60-minute effort, considering how that 2-goal lead in the third period went away. Still, it was a fun one to watch. It would have been more fun if it wasn't so close to deadline!
Anyway, Modano said he was wanting to get that equalizer in the shootout especially considering that missed opportunity in the overtime. Nice stop by Smitty on Kariya's shootout attempt, too (yeah, I know, the guy still had a hat trick. He's pretty good, eh?)
Jokinen has some sort of a knee issue. He was limping around the locker room afterward, saying he was OK. Tippett said he'll be re-evaluated today. He wasn't sure if that would include an MRI.

So the Stars will take it, take a deep breath and move on. At least now when they have off nights or periods, they're still pulling them out. We remember how those type of games were ending early in the season, don't we?

Kariya hat trick

He gets the hat trick, and the man has earned it. He's been a Stars killer this period, and Kariya has made life miserable for all Stars folks here in the third period. That third one comes with 10.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

Bring OT on.

Ribeiro's turn

It's a career-high 21, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Stars. He's right in front for a rebound, and easily slips it into the side of the net to give the Stars the lead again, now 4-3, at the 14:59 mark.

Hold on, folks.

Kariya again

Here we go, folks.

The two-goal lead is gone, and the Stars chasing leads to St. Louis taking advantage. Paul Kariya is once again the culprit, as he laces one through Smith to tie it at 10:31.

Can't give up two-goal leads. Let's watch the fun the rest of the way.

Kariya strikes back

You always have to watch out for this guy, don't you? He has a scorcher of his own that goes over Smith's left shoulder to cut the Stars' lead to one once again. Goal is unassisted at 5:36.

Modano scores

It's his second in as many nights, and Halpern does a great job setting this one up. He gets behind the net and sends one out to Modano, who absolutely scorches one top left side of the net. It gives the Stars some nice breathing room at the 4:01 mark.

Halpern's second assist of the night, too.

Jokinen out

Not even sure what happened with him, but he's out for the remainder of the game with a leg injury.

Robidas is back

I guess we shouldn't be surprised, right? The tough-as-nails Roby is back after blocking a shot at the end of the first.

Boy, the guy just keeps taking licks and getting right back up.

First period, and Robidas

The Stars came out humming in the first half of the first period, going up two within 46 seconds. But once St. Louis scored that goal, the Blues came alive and were the more determined team over the last seven minutes or so. I'll be interested to see how the Stars respond to that here in the second.

Stephane Robidas made two great blocks near the end of the first period, but he was hurt on the first one. He made it back to the bench, but he was hobbling off the bench and needed help up the tunnel. We'll see if he comes back.

Da Bears!

OK, not those Bears. The University of California Bears are at the AAC tonight for the game. They'll play Air Force in the BellSouth Helicopter Bowl (OK, I can't remember the name exactly) on Monday at Amon Carter Stadium.

Sorry, folks, I'm too much in hockey mode to remember the bowl names anymore!

Blues end scoring skid

David Perron gives the Blues their first goal in three games. Things got tight along the boards and the puck landed in the middle of the ice. Keith Tkachuk threw it back to Perron, who just sizzled it through Smith at 13:15.

Stars still up 2-1.

Two quick ones

First, let's look at Niklas Hagman's. Stars controlled the possession after the power play, and Jokinen, from behind the net, set up Hagman beautifully. That's 14 for him, only 3 away from his career-high of 17.

Then it was Barnes' turn. His shot went off Keith Tkachuk's leg and in. You could tell Blues goaltender Hannu Toivonen was expecting that pass to just go through in front of him.

Two goals within 46 seconds. Not a bad start.

Lines

No changes from the other night. Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen start it.

Ott-Modano-Halpern
Hagman-Jokinen-Eriksson
Lundqvist-Barnes-Barch

Scratches and number change

Mattias Norstrom, Brad Winchester and Chris Conner are scratches for tonight. Norstrom is getting better, and depending on how well he does in his first full practice tomorrow, he could be back in the lineup soon.

Chris Conner has changed his jersey number from 65 to 25. Don't know if there's a particular reason for it, but there you have it.

Game on... soon.

How Smitty stole Christmas

Mike Smith will get the start tonight, and he'll be wearing his Christmas-themed mask. The mask features a few Christmasy touches, including the Grinch on one side. I saw it up close the other day and it's a pretty cool mask.
OK, all of those masks are pretty cool. Still, this one is going to be auctioned at some point soon.

Smith has one previous start against St. Louis, a loss last season. The Blues have struggled to find goals lately, as they have two consecutive shutouts coming into tonight (5-0 vs. Detroit on Wednesday, 1-0 vs. San jose last night).

8 p.m. start tomorrow!

Sorry, I felt the need to post this, too, just as a friendly reminder.

The Mavericks host the Atlanta Hawks at noon, so it's a little extra time for the crews to go from basketball to hockey.

And it's a little extra time to get downtown!

More on Tip

Tippett handled the extension talk in stride today.. obviously his status is not his No. 1 concern. The team is. And you can't really complain about what this team is doing right now. Since Nov. 13, the day the GM changeover, the Stars are 15-5-1. Not too shabby of a record.

As far as Dahlen, we'll wait and see. The guy's obviously good coaching material, just look at what he's done with the power play over the past two seasons. But he could have some other options at the end of the season, whether it's in the states or over in Europe. So I can see his side of wanting to wait.

Anyway, the deal is done and the Stars will get back to business tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues.

Tippett gets extension

Coach Dave Tippett, as well as Rick Wilson and Mark Lamb received a one-year contract extension this morning, which will put them through the end of next season. Ulf Dahlen was offered the same, but he apparently wants to wait until the summer to assess next season.

The Stars are certainly pointed in the right direction right now, and Tip has been a strong influence on this team.

I know, the Stars still need to do something in the postseason. I agree. And this year is critical. But I still like this move.

More to come.

Norstrom improving

Mattias Norstrom had a good skate on Thursday, according to coach Dave Tippett. He's not sure if he'll be ready for Saturday night's game against St. Louis, but it sounds like he's pretty close to returning nonetheless.

Goals, goals, goals

The Stars certainly had enough of them tonight, didn't they? I think the best thing about this game was that it wasn't just the Mike Ribeiro line doing everything. Granted, when you have eight goals it's hard for it to come down to just one line.

But everyone (just about) was on the scoresheet tonight, and against a team that is known for stingy defense. How would you like to be Minnesota, though... you're coming off Christmas and you travel this morning for the game tonight. That's not a short flight, either.

Marty Turco didn't have his best night, but look at how many great ones he's had lately. We all have bad ones, so be kind. He was 9-3-0 in his last 12 starts coming into this one.

OK, folks, I'm pretty tired. Get some rest, because we've got one more holiday remaining before we all make resolutions that end by February!

Eriksson's turn

OK, I think I'm the only one who hasn't scored a goal in this game now.

Loui Eriksson gets his second of the season for an 8-3 lead. I'm guessing the last time they had this many goals was that 9-1 game against Chicago about two years ago. Sheesh.

Morrow again

That's his second of the night, and it's on the power play. That's their first seven-goal game since beating Colorado 7-5 on Feb. 11 of last season.

Think that scoring by committee deal is working?

Make it a double

Just about, anyway.

Brenden Morrow gets a rebound shot through for a 5-3 lead at 8:12. Just 14 seconds later, Mike Modano one-times one from a Steve Ott pass for a 6-3 advantage. Mo's shot just trickled over the line, but it was definitely enough to count.

They should have enough breathing room now.

Craziness continues

It was just too long of a lapse without a goal from the opposition. This one was a pretty nice shot, not sure if Robidas screened Turco, but Demitra just placed it perfectly off the inside of the post and in. You could hear the ping all the way up here.

It's 4-3, at 8:13.

Barnes' turn

Thought it was Krys Barch but is indeed Stu Barnes', as it was his pass/shot that went off Brent Burns and in. That's his second in as many games, and the Stars are up 2-0.

Waiting for the Stuuuuuu....

A little crazy

That was an interesting 20 minutes, wasn't it? The Stars are  looking like they're running on some high energy right now, and it's never bad to see a lot of players involved in the scoring. Marty's looking a little rusty right now, so we'll see how he settles in during the next two periods.

By the way, Halpern's shorty was his first since 2002-03, when he had two.

Halpern with the shorty

Told you the wildness was going to continue. Steve Ott gets a turnover, looks like he's got a shot but he loses the puck... Halpern gets it and slips it under a prone Harding at 9:33.

Now how long can they keep the lead?!

Just when it was safe...

OK, that didn't take long.

Pavol Demitra comes down the boards and hits a shot at a strange angle, and it looks like it goes off the inside of Turco's leg and in. Didn't look like it was one that should've been given up.

Looks like we've got a wild one awaiting us tonight.

Ribeiro again

He takes the hit at center ice, holds on and slips one through Josh Harding at 6:20. Great pass by Morrow, and Ribeiro was all alone. No doubt who wins that matchup.

Tied

Stars got caught a little too long in their own zone and the Wild made 'em pay...

Aaron Voros had the goal, shooting high over Turco to tie at at 1-1 at 4:50.

Lines

Sorry, they scored so fast I couldn't get this out:

Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen start
Ott-Modano-Halpern
Hagman-Jokinen-Eriksson
Lundqvist-Barnes-Barch

Scratches are Norstrom, Winchester and Conner.

Nice start

Niklas Hagman gets the Stars on the board at 1:33... this was a great series of passes from Niskanen to Modano to Hagman, who was coming in on a partial change. Nice lift, be it Hagman's doing or if the shot went off a stick.

Either way, Stars up 1-0.

Aaah...

OK, kids, I'm back in my element. The ice is fresh, the crowd is coming in and I haven't touched a cookie in 24 hours. They really should have a recovery hotline for a few days after the holidays.

Anyway, be back with vital info in a few minutes.

Oh, my question of the night... what was your best Christmas gift?

Goaltenders and post-holiday recovery

Marty Turco will get the start tonight against the Wild. He's 9-4-0 against them in his career.

I don't know about you, but considering the food and drink intake of the last two days, I'm glad to be getting back to work, back to hockey and back to normal food portions! Seriously, hope you all had a good one.

By the way, I now have about four dozen cookies to distribute, thanks to my aunt who makes the meanest sugar cookies and fudge this side of the Mississippi. Christmas continues...

Enjoy the holidays!

The Stars certainly will, anyway. This gives them six victories in their last seven games, and their performance was a welcome one entering the two-day break. Yes, the Stars are looking pretty solid right now, and it starts with that Ribeiro line.

By the way, could Ribeiro have had a better night against his old team? There's no doubt that this guy is loving the anonymity of Dallas, and the fact that he can just go out and play hockey and not worry about anything else.

Enjoy the holidays, everyone. I'm headed to Houston to see some relatives down there. Stay safe and we'll see you on the 26th!

Well, we'll blog before then, though.

Shutout gone

Never fails... I start writing about a shutout and it's gone. Marty didn't have much of a chance to stop this one, as a turnover led to a 2 on 1, with Andrei Markov getting the Canadiens on the board at the 13:35 mark.

Ribeiro and STUUUUUU!

What a night for Ribeiro. He gets a goal, his 19th of the season, on a juicy little turnover. That gives him 3 points against his old team. His second assist was also good for his 250th career point.

Then Stu Barnes got into the act with his goal about two minutes later. Nice to see Stu with that one, his first since Nov. 28 against New Jersey.

Staying steady

Solid second period. The Stars didn't lose any of their gusto, and they had a couple choice shots. No doubt Carey Price has gotten stronger in net for the Habs.

Marty looked very good in the second. Made some nifty stops, withstood a shot off the post and helped with the Stars clearing the zone.

Bring on period 3.

Good opening 20

This was kind of a fun start. A little brawling, a few power plays and two very nice goals. Mike Ribeiro's already got two assists on his old team. Modano looks like he's fine. I like how the Stars put Lundqvist-Halpern-Barnes back together. Those three always seemed to have a nice chemistry.

Guy's son in law

Brenden Morrow truly gets the table set on this one... Miettinen to Ribeiro, who drew everyone to his attention, then a quick pass back to a wide-open Morrow right on the doorstep. Stars up two at 11:32.

Modano is back

OK, everyone can exhale now. Modano's back on the bench so it must not have been anything too serious.

Miettinen scores

Miettinen had to settle this puck down for a second, but he stuck with it then landed one up high for the 1-0 lead. Ribeiro gets the primary assist.

Modano injured

Not even sure what happened here, but Modano was coming off the ice in a lot of pain, and needed help getting out of the tunnel.

We'll see what happened.

Scratches

Tonight's scratches are Krys Barch, Brad Winchester and Mattias Norstrom. Nordy apparently saw the doctor today, so hopefully there'll be an update on his condition later. Fistric is in, in his place.

By the way, there was a nice reaction from the crowd when Guy Carbonneau's name was announced.

Special anthem

Celena Rae will add a new twist to the Canadian national anthem tonight: She'll sing part of Oh, Canada in French. It's something special she's doing for the visiting Montreal Canadiens, as that's how it's sung in their building.

Bonjour mes amis

Sorry, but I'm starting to think of all my French education after this morning at the skate. I haven't heard that much French since my sophomore class at St. Bonaventure. Still, it's great to see another team in the building, and to see the media catching up with some Quebec natives, including Ribeiro, Boucher and Robidas.

Oh, goalie update: Marty starts tonight. He's only faced the Canadiens three times, and is 1-1-1 in his career against them.

Meanwhile, Mark Fistric is getting ready for tonight. Kid is definitely eager to get into the lineup.

A bientot!

Norstrom questionable

Mattias Norstrom has a knee issue after leaving last night's game against the Flames. He's questionable for tonight. So if he's out, we'll see Fistric for the first time this season.

Here come the Habs!

Morning skates are good times to just chat with players, but tomorrow's should be fun to watch for another reason: I want to see how many media folks are in from Montreal!

By the way, this is another example of why these teams need to play each other home and away each year. You've got Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau coming back in. Ribeiro, a Montreal native, is facing his old team. This kind of stuff is great to see every year down here, not once every three years!

Change, change, change...

Happy trails

The guy keeps earning his keep. Two goals for Ribeiro tonight, including the nice little gamewinner on the deflection. Very nice. And what kind of an angle is that?!

Anyway, Ribeiro's greatness continues. That gives him 18 this season, just two away from his career high of 20. In December. As in, it's not even January yet.

Consider it another successful road trip for the Stars, who took 3 of 4 on this one. That's 7-3 on their past two trips. Now, how do they do at home for the rest of December?

Oh my

That was a fun end to regulation, wasn't it? Smith has played very, very well tonight, especially considering how much time he's had off. We'll see what the Stars have left in the tank.

Hagman ties it

He's earned it, hasn't he? The guy looks like he's worked his tail off tonight, so it's nice to see him get rewarded. That and he's a cut-up in the locker room.

OK, let's not give it back that quick, all right?

Hmmm

Stars need a fiery third in this one. I saw Norstrom went out with a lower body injury. I was noticing something about the injury bug this season... the D-men have been hit a lot harder with it. Last year it was the forwards who were always shorthanded. But I think the Stars' reserves in D-men are a little stronger, so we may see Mr. Fistric when the Stars come home, depending on what's up with Norstrom.

Oops

Sat down just in time to see this one. Lombardi throws a shot in that curves inside the pipe on Mike Smith for a 2-1 lead for the Flames.

I missed the first few minutes of the second period but was listening on my way home. Sounds like the Stars have been getting their shots on Kiprusoff, but only one so far. 0 for 3 on power plays doesn't help the cause.

That'll do it

Still a pretty good goaltending matchup tonight. Like Game 7 last April, the name Sedin proved tough to overcome. The Stars' four-game win streak is over, but things are always interesting when they go to Calgary.

Should be Mike Smith taking the start tomorrow, although that can always change.

Power play working

Once again, they needed this one.

A nice rebound, and Antti Miettinen hits it over a prone Roberto Luongo for the power-play goal. Sixth goal of the season for Miettinen, Morrow and Zubov on the assists.

In striking distance again.

D. Sedin again

Yep, not good.

Daniel Sedin gets his second of the night on the 5 on 3 to rebuild the Canucks' two-goal advantage. That rebound was a huge one, and Sedin had nothing but net.

Yikes

Never like these: Morrow gets the hold and the Canucks get 45 seconds' worth of 5 on 3.

Brace yourselves, folks.

That worked

Luongo is very good in the net. Outside of it...

His inability to get on that puck gives Hagman a chance to get it, who passes it to Loui Eriksson and then to Jokinen, who knocks it into a relatively empty net. Stars needed that badly.

That doesn't help

That line stings:

A pass goes a little awry, hits off Jussi Jokinen and Daniel Sedin gets the goal to put the Canucks up 2-0. This team is pretty tough with a lead as it is, let alone a two-goal one. Canucks something like 15-0 when leading after two periods.

More goaltending

It looks like the other night with the Stars and Oilers right now. Turco made a great stop at the end of the period, Luongo had a great stop on Ribeiro earlier in the frame.

Anyone thinking this has the chance to be a 2-1 shootout deal again?

Vancouver penalty again

The Stars will go on their third power play. They need to take advantage of these, considering how successful they are when they get goals on them... and how hard it is to get anything on Luongo.

Go figure

You have to pay attention to the Sedin group, and of course someone else does the damage. Mason Raymond comes around and puts one in on a ridiculously sharp angle to put the Canucks up 1-0. It looked like it hit off Marty.

Either way, Canucks leading.

Good first

Pretty nice period for the Stars. They got some good looks at Robert Luongo, and you could argue the score should be at least 1-0 right now (just judging from that opportunity Joel Lundqvist had at a pretty open net).

Still, it's good to keep Luongo on his toes. We'll see how the Stars respond in the next 20 minutes.

Lines

Halpern-Modano-Ott get the start and it looks like they gave the Stars another good beginning.

Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen
Hagman-Jokinen-Eriksson
Lundqvist-Barnes-Barch

First time I remember seeing Barch in the lineup since that Pittsburgh game when he had the bad-idea fight with George LaRaque.

Marty in net

Sorry, got tired of posting "goal" :)

Anyway, he's in tonight and it looks like Smitty will probably be in tomorrow. Unless Marty has some crazy night like the other night... then you wonder if you want to stop that mojo!

Fistric recalled

Mark Fistric was called up from Iowa to join the Stars in Canada. I'm guessing this is just a "have another body" move down the stretch of, at least, this month. Fistric was up for about two seconds back in mid-November, when he was a healthy scratch against Colorado on Nov. 16.

Great night

Hey folks,

I just got back from California in time to see that shootout... fantastic. But after catching some of the highlights, it's pretty clear it was a night for Marty Turco.

It wasn't too long ago we were wondering if Turco and Smith would be splitting games pretty even this season. But it's hard to take anything away from Marty right now, especially since he's been in the net for the past four victories. Still, guessing he and Smitty will split the back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday.

And there's nothing left to say about Zubie, is there? Great shot.

Chris Simon's latest

I'm still in the midst of learning how to upload files and videos and all that fun stuff, so for now I'll give you the link and a little synposis:

Chris Simon had another dirty play over the weekend, this time tripping and stomping on the ankle of a Jarkko Ruutu of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This guy's had some terrible incidents in the league, and I think the Islanders need to cut ties. Quickly. Same for the NHL. Anyway, the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKeVb_G-PI

Thoughts?

I left my heart...

OK, that's a schmoozy lead-in to the fact that I'm in the great city of San Francisco right now (not making this trip to W. Canada). I've never been here before, and despite being in the city limits for less than 12 hours, I'm already in love with this place.

I'll be going on some touring with a great friend of mine today. So for anyone who's been out there, your opinions, please: What do I need to see?

One more day

In the Silicon Valley, anyway. The Stars will head to the frozen tundra of Edmonton tomorrow morning and get ready for the next tilt of games. Kind of a ridiculous setup on this schedule: Edmonton, then over to Vancouver, then to Calgary, which is only like a 2-hour drive from Edmonton.

But the boys were a chipper bunch after today's practice. Why not? They're coming off a great game, one in, as Tippett said, "all the parts were working."

What a game

This was a fun one, probably moreso because the Stars won and a happy locker room is always easier to go into!

Still, great character game for these guys. Marty was tough in the third period when Joe Thornton could've gone up and whispered in his ear. And the power play continues to reap benefits. Wasn't it early in the season when those 5-on-3s were never positive? Well, they're not too shabby now.

By the way, news flash: Ribeiro has skills. Seriously, what was up with that goal? He's just four goals away from his career high of 20 and it's only December. That's not a bad thing for the Stars to see. But it all goes back to that line again. Doesn't matter if it was on the power play or not: Ribeiro, Morrow, Miettinen. It's been fun to watch.

Otter's goal

Otter ends it with the empty-netter with about 40 seconds remaining. You love Ott, so it's nice to see that for him.

Whatta stop!

Actually, one or two by Marty Turco on that crazy power-play for the Sharks, but none bigger than the point-blank halt on Joe Thornton.

Great game today, and that kill was pretty big.

Miettinen's turn

This was a nice tip on Modano's wicked slapper. Miettinen just planted in front and tipped it top shelf past Nabokov for a 3-2 lead. That gave the Stars another power-play goal, second of the day (it came on that second PP after Marleau's double-minor high