Here's a few goodies from the post-game fun.
Trevor Daley, on his usual kiss of Marty Turco's helmet after a victory: "Marty got a little tongue out there."
Banter between Marty Turco and Brenden Morrow, when Marty was asked if he did anything different before Game 5. Marty: "I didn't think of anything.
Brenden: "Did you tell them about that chicken?"
Marty: "No, no, there's no chicken. It was a rooster."
Mike Ribeiro on Turco's first win at "The Joe": "That's sick."
As Tracey said in the post before this one, the Stars are headed back to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday. You can buy tickets for Game 5 here. Don't forget - the puck drops at 7 p.m. on Monday, and after a nice respite to NBC, the game will be broadcast on VERSUS (yes, I can hear you all groaning from here). But hey, at least they say it will be in HD!
And I gotta tell ya ... to use my least favorite sports cliche, I've drank the Kool-Aid. If the Stars come out with the same fire and intensity as they had in Game 5, we may be looking at only the third team in Stanley Cup Playoff history to come back from a 3-0 deficit. I'm only a hockey newbie, but it sure seemed like the Stars and the Red Wings swapped personalities in Game 5. And the NBC guys had it right -- the Red Wings were skating scared. Why? Who knows. Certainly they had nothing to be afraid of, with Marty Turco being winless at the Joe.
If you haven't been, be sure to check out the Party in the Plaza at the AAC before Game 6 on Monday. Or make plans to attend the Game 7 watching party -- kudos to the Stars for putting out a great, free event for the fans to celebrate and enjoy the game.
And a shout-out to the Five for Fighting readers that I met today! I can't wait to see those Flat Stanley pictures!
Keep checking our Stars page for what the papers in Detroit are saying after the Stars' 2-1 victory in Game 5. And I'll try to rustle up some postgame quotables and notables for ya.
-- Keeli Garza
And the Stars aren't finished, thanks to a great outing by Marty Turco. And doubly great considering he stopped 38 of 39 in a building that has been so tough on him through the years. He said he was feeling it in this one, and no doubt he was. He looked in control, which is good because some of his teammates didn't. That mess of turnovers at the start of the third period? Yikes. But kudos to Marty for hanging in there.
And congrats to the Eriksson-Petersen-Lundqvist line, too. Tremendous game by those guys, especially in keeping the Stars' energy going and keeping the Red Wings' top guys from doing any damage. They were key when the Wings pulled Chris Osgood, as they didn't even allow the Wings a shot on Marty.
We're headed back to Dallas, folks. We'll see you for Game 6 on Monday.
The Stars lead looks even bigger on this screen outside the AAC on AT&T Plaza.
-- Keeli Garza
One of the intermission games pitted two Stars fans against each other in a take on "Don't Forget the Lyrics" ... let's just say one contestant didn't far so hot. The contestant, who will go unnamed to prevent embarrassment, had trouble with the lyrics to Sweet Child of Mine and Blister in the Sun. Ouch. -- Keeli Garza
Well, the Stars got out of that period with a lead, despite being outshot 13-6. But it's all about quality, and Lundqvist's shot worked. Turco's hanging in there. Made a big stop on Nicklas Lidstrom's bullet from the blue line.
The Stars need to get more rubber heading Osgood's way. Need to test him much more than they have so far. And the power play needs something, anything. At least they got two shots on the last one, but otherwise they've struggled in getting anything working on the man advantage.
Good times, kids. The third should be very, very entertaining.
It's Joel Lundqvist off an odd play. Marty Turco cleared the puck, and it deflected off a Red Wings' stick (no idea who). Anyway, Lundqvist picked up the loose puck and beat Osgood high stick side.
Turco got the assist, too. Stars up 2-1 at the 6:04 mark.
The fans at the official watch party at AT&T Plaza celebrate the goal scored by Joel Lundqvist in the second period.
-- Keeli Garza
It may only be 80 degrees outside, but with the sun bearing down, it feels like 100. Luckily, fans can duck inside the AAC to grab a snack, and adult beverage or just cool off for a second. As for me, I'm taking this opportunity to juice up my laptop just a bit before the second period.
-- Keeli Garza
What better way to kill time during the intermission than with a little Guitar Hero. Plenty of PlayStation stations are set up around the AT&T Plaza for fans who need to get their gaming fix while they watch Game 5 on the big screens outside the AAC.
-- Keeli Garza
The Stars came out blazing and got a goal to show for it. Then Detroit got a little miffed and they were dominant in the second part of the first period. The Stars had an 8-3 advantage just past the 10-minute mark. Then Detroit woke up, and outshot them something like 11-3. Not so good. Give the credit to Marty Turco. Without his work, this score is very ugly right now. Couple nasty little turnovers in their own end, too, which just added to the drama.
The Stars were four seconds away from finishing off the power play, but Jiri Hudler came through instead. Turco stalled the first shot, but Hudler got a second chance at it and scored at the 15:30 mark. Credit Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula with the assists.
The Stars have spent way too much time in their own zone since scoring that goal. The shots were 8-3 Dallas about six minutes ago. Now they're 11-8 Detroit.
Trevor Daley gets the goal, but it was Brad Richards' work that made this possible. He got the puck bouncing off the boards, then made a nifty between-the-legs pass to Daley coming down the slot. Daley beat Osgood stick side, and it's 1-0 Stars at the 9:21 mark.
Stars are outshooting the Wings 8-3 at the 10:26 mark.
Couldn't swing a last-minute trip to Detroit for Game 5? No problem! The Stars are hosting their official watch party here at AT&T Plaza right outside the AAC. Even the kids have something to do - the slapshot cage is out as well as a bouncehouse. What's even better? The fans are just as rowdy outside as they are inside the AAC.
-- Keeli Garza
Back to Detroit, I mean. The forward lines were the same in practice as they were in Game 4, and not surprised by that. It worked, for goodness sakes.
Also, some other fun. Brenden Morrow took umbrage with a call that referee Bill McCreary made on Mark Fistric, that roughing call that set up the 5 on 3 about five minutes into Game 1 against the Detroit Red Wings. He talked, on The Ticket on Thursday, about it being a "phantom call" and there's apparently a little history with McCreary and Fistric. Anyway, McCreary is going to be a referee for Game 5 tomorrow afternoon. There's your fun for the day.
Anyway, back to things not involving a soap opera. This game can't start soon enough.
Pretty quiet around Starsland on Thursday. Welcome to optional day. Anyway, the injury update:
Philippe Boucher skated, but he's not a player for Game 5. Neither is Stu Barnes or Jere Lehtinen. Coach Dave Tippett said, "they may travel, but they won't be taking equipment."
As far as defenseman Mark Fistric, the poor kid apparently has mono. So he'll be out for a bit.
Anyway, the Stars will practice early tomorrow before heading back up to Detroit in the afternoon. Any Game 5 predictions anyone?
The Stars did it. They had to play their guts out to do it, but they did it nonetheless. There will be a Game 5, a Saturday afternoon soiree in Detroit (by the way, I'd like to thank NBC for that beautiful 12:30 p.m. CST start).
Marty Turco was great tonight. He had to be. Guess what? He'll have to be again in that personal pit of despair known as Joe Louis Arena. If not, bye-bye postseason run. But you have to give a thumb's up to the guys for getting through this one. They kept it going, and besides Stars fans NBC is probably the second happiest group right now.
Brenden Morrow is crazy, and I mean that the best way possible.
The no-goal was a bad call. But I admire Henrik Zetterberg (for many reasons, but mainly for this quote: "I don't think the loss came on that call. Everything goes really fast out there and unfortunately it was a missed call."
The Stars hung in there after the Red Wings scored that goal early in the third period. It could've been their downfall. It has been in the past. But not tonight.
So it's off to Detroit again. We'll see what Saturday brings, but the Stars are going to have to do what they did tonight, and then some, in Game 5.
Kudos all around, mind you, but Toby Petersen played a great game tonight. He logged nearly 20 minutes of ice time (19:56) and centered a line with Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist. That line, mind you, was pretty stinkin' good.
So just wanted to give him props.
Here's what Mike Modano had to say after his team avoided elimination in Game 4:
Do you wish you shaved the beard a little earlier now? Maybe so. I was a bit bored at home last night. Nothing on TV.
They moved you over to the wing tonight. You looked like you were on a mission. The wing kind of changes things a lot. I think at times you can really time things. You seem to sometimes get lost in the pack. You can come wide and you can kind of gain some speed, find some open ice out there. Centers have a lot of responsibility. There's a lot more grunt work. There's a lot more skating. You're down low a lot more often in your own zone. So I think it was just, you know, let's load up two lines and see what we can do, go offense to offense and hopefully we can even it out.
How many game-winning goals do you think you have against the Red Wings in your entire career? How did it feel to get that one after they came back to tie it? I'm not sure. Probably one, maybe. I think that's about it ... certainly in the playoffs. But yeah, I mean, we've been struggling a little bit on the power play. It hasn't been really working out for us as far as the plays and things opening up. And you don't get many second or third chances on 'em, too. You know, we were able to get it set up finally. Zubov down low on that side is someone that can really thread the needle, find the open guy. Once it came down to him, I was able to get off a little bit, get the shot off before Draper came behind me.
As far as coming back, their goal in the beginning of the third could have been pretty detrimental to you guys. What was it about this team? Was it the desperation factor that kept you going and getting that equalizer? Probably so. Having the lead finally for once in the whole series was something that was, you know, exciting to see finally, kind of changed our feelings about things. But, you know, those guys just kept coming. Those three just keep coming, chance after chance. You know they're going to get their great opportunities. An innocent play like that up the ice, two guys come to Datsyuk, he's able to get Zetterberg, made a great shot. We knew obviously it's those two guys that really make that team go. So if you're able to keep them off the boards, somewhat more than the other night, we felt we had a better chance.
-- Keeli Garza
Here's what Stars coach Dave Tippett had to say after his team avoided elimination at the hands of the Red Wings with a 3-1 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday:
You've talked many times as far as how much you need your best players. Talk about Marty tonight, his performance: Well, he was a guy that, you know, when we talk about our whole team has to play well and all the parts have to be in place, that's probably the most individual part of it, you know, of the team. His job is an awful tough job to do. He came up with a heck of a game for us tonight. We were looking for a better team effort, and that's what we got right from Marty out.
You've had the non-call on Tomas in the crease, tonight you had one on him not in the crease. Those things even out over time? I think they do. That one tonight, I thought the play right before that on the faceoff before, I thought it should have been an interference call on him on Turco. You know, when the goal gets in, that's one of those ones ... it's awful tough for a referee to see, if the sake is in the blue or not. Game 1, the skate was right back in the blue. Tonight didn't look like it was right on the edge. I haven't seen it yet on replay, but that's what I'm hearing. Those are things that happen during a game. Some bounces go for you, some go against you. Tonight we got it to go for us.
Talk about Modano. Looked like he was kind of on a mission tonight: We talked about Turco being one of our best players. But I though all our best players stood up tonight. Playing hard minutes, we moved Modano over to the win tonight. He jumped in there with Richards, and was very good. You know, I thought Morrow and Ribeiro, that's the first game that they played, they played minutes, but that looks like the first game where their legs are starting to come back from the last series. So that's a positive sign. We talked before the game. We got two days off now. We've given ourselves some life. Two days of rest should really help us. You know Modano, he got a lot of minutes again tonight, played very well on the wall, scored a big goal, scored the winning goal. That's great to see from him.
They came back early in the third and scored. Are you pretty proud of your team, the way they came back? Yeah, you know what, when you're in the situation we are, where there's no tomorrow, you might as well keep playing. You're in a do or die situation. They guys talked about it. As soon as it happened on the bench, that's not going to deter us tonight. The play was made by Toby Petersen. He tries to make a good play, got intercepted, it's back in our net. I was real glad to see that it wasn't a factor in the outcome because Petersen's line played excellent for us tonight. They were very, very good. Played with a ton of speed. We turned the puck over, that ended up going back our way. I love the way our team competed back and didn't make it a factor. Our team recognized how well that line played. You know, as a group, we played real well. But it's that little extra desire in the third period. You just love to see that, the character of the group.
You had San Jose down 3-0. You were down 0-3. What did you learn from that series from being down 0-3? I learned you can get nervous when the other team starts winning. That's where we were. So hopefully that does it. We talked this morning. We need a thread of life. Now, we got a thread of life. The two days off will really help us. You know, we've got some momentum. So we've got to use that to our advantage now. You go in there and steal a game out of there. Now you got it to 3-2. Now the balls rolling the right way. You know, we'll see that happens.
-- Keeli Garza
Short and sweet. That's probably the best way to describe Red Wings coach Mike Babcock's postgame press conference after his team's 3-1 loss to the Stars in Game 4. Here's what he had to say (including a little ditty about ... you guessed it, the disallowed goal):
Do you have any thoughts on the disallowed goal? What do you want me to say? The guy's not in the paint? They guy's out of the paint. That's a reputation call totally. It's disappointing. I mean, Homer got a penalty the other night and he bumped Turco earlier in the game. But I guess the way I look at it is this: in the league, there's lots that goes on on the ice. Sometimes a guy gets tripped and you miss it. Some things go wrong, and you miss it. Just don't make stuff up. That's all. ... These men are doing their very best, just like us. They want to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Kelly is a good referee. He just blew the call. That's life.
What was the explanation you got? I mean, I don't know why we're beating this up. ... He said his butt was in the blue. Well, it clearly wasn't in the blue. This is the part that I have, is what happens is, these referees, just like us, they prepare their team. They prepare the referees. So they tell them about guys so that they're watching for stuff. ... Well, watch for it, but it's got to happen. You can't dream it up.
Beyond that call, did Dallas come out stronger? I thought they were good early. We took some penalties early, too. I think they had three power-plays, if I'm not mistaken, in the first period. They got momentum. But we didn't shoot the puck in the net. We had every opportunity in the world to score and we didn't. The goalie was good. They were desperate. You know, I don't think we were surprised by their effort in any way. It's what we expected. 
Like I said, we weren't able to finish it. We had some opportunities on the power play and we were unable to get it done. They were able to get a power-play goal. Cleary broke his stick, so it really ended up being like a five-on-three.
-- Keeli Garza
The disallowed goal was a hot topic with the Red Wings after their 3-1 loss to the Stars in Game 4 on Wednesday. Here's what a few of the Red Wings had to say after the loss:
Nicklas Lidstrom: He's saying his rear end is over the line. I didn't know about that rule. I thought it was the skate they were looking at. You've just got to live with that call ... It could have been a different game, but they battled hard. They were a desperate team out there. We have to match that intensity. I thought we did that in the second half of the game but not the first half where we had some penalties and gave them some momentum. ... I think the penalties we took were a big part of that [slow start]. You don't get the rhythm with your lines going, you're going to have to kill all the time. That just ruins the momentum with your lines.
Darren McCarty: I think each game is a battle inside the whole war, so there are different story lines to each game and tonight they came out flying off the bat and we just couldn't get anything going. We took some penalties so we were back a little bit on our heels. We got better as the game went on, but it wasn't enough. The good thing is we're still up, we're in the driver's seat and we're going back to the Joe. ... We wanted it to be our best game of the playoffs and it might have been, I wouldn't say, we've played some bad ones early, it wasn't our worst but it wasn't enough. At this time of the year, conference finals, it's got to be a 60-minute effort and tonight it wasn't there.
Henrik Zetterberg: It was a goal. Homer was outside the crease, nothing new to that. Everything goes really fast out there and unfortunately it was a missed call. I didn't think it is a rule but that's that. I don't think the loss came on that call. ... In the first period we were in the box too much. It was tough to get any momentum. They got a little momentum and we got a little tired. We didn't play with all of our players because we were in PK a lot. In the second half, I thought we played a little better. Halfway through the second, we really got it going and started playing better but they were up by a goal.
-- Keeli Garza
This was an easy one:
The Stars are 1-0 in the playoffs when an octopus hits the AAC ice.
If the Stars win on Saturday and make it back for game 6, I expect to see more tentacled objects being smuggled in and flung about.
Coming up - postgame quotables from both teams and coaches, as well as news and notes from the game.
Don't forget: Game 5 is Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ... (drumroll please!) NBC!
And if you feel strongly enough about the Stars forcing a Game 6, tickets are still available for Monday's game.
-- Keeli Garza
If his shoulder/arm are hurting him, you wouldn't know it. Brenden Morrow gives the Stars another goal, giving them a two-goal cushion with less than five minutes remaining in this one. The guy never ceases to amaze.
Tomas Holmstrom just dinged one off the post, by the way. Detroit is firing on everything right now, and has been since the second period. Never feel safe against this team.
The Wings had evened this one up at the start of the third thanks to (shocking) Henrik Zetterberg off a Stars turnover. But the Stars got a big one on their fourth power play. Mike Modano was by himself in the slot and blasted one through Chris Osgood for a 2-1 advantage. It's Modano, from Zubov and Brad Richards at the 5:35 mark.
It's the Stars' first third-period goal in seven games.
No, I'm not one ... but I'm sure there are some of you out there.
The band is currently rocking out to their hit "Timebomb" in the Stars bench area.
I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come in the third period, for the Stars' sake.
-- Keeli Garza
OK, in Game 1 Tomas Holmstrom was well in the crease. In Game 3 he was not, but that didn't stop the officials from taking a goal away from the Red Wings. Pavel Datsyuk had scored on the Wings' first power play, but officials ruled Holmstrom was in the crease. Watch the replays... he was clearly out of it.
"This team couldn't finish off a beer."
Ouch.
Here are some of the quotes from Tom Hicks before Wednesday's game:
On what the team's done this season: "This is the first game I've been to when my stomach's not been in a knot. I've come to celebrate hockey. I want to do that 33-year thing (a team coming back from an 3-0 deficit for the first time in 33 years), but this has been such a great thing with what they've done. They've laid the foundation for the future."
On Jerry Jones' message to him: "I wish you luck, but if it doesn't go your way (in this round), you've gotten everybody's attention."
Not surprisingly, there is a bit of a mix.
Eriksson-Ott-Petersen
Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen
Hagman-Richards-Modano
Haven't seen a fourth line out there yet. Krys Barch and Brad Winchester are both suited up.
I have my bag checked every time I get into this building, I'm sure for weapons. My question: How do you sneak a squid in here? However you do it, it was thrown on the ice a few moments before we were set to begin. Boos erupted, one because the squid was there and two, because it took a bit for someone to get it out of here.
Owner Tom Hicks chatted with some of the local media before the game, and he said negotiations are in the works for co-GMs Les Jackson and Brett Hull. The two have done well in their short time in power, considering the Brad Richards trade and what they did/did not give up to get him. Sounds like the negotiations are in the early stages, but they are nonetheless there.
Brenden Morrow talked in the big room today (that's the one with all the microphones and the transcribers). He said he was feeling just fine and he's ready to go for tonight. I asked if he feared the worse when he first went down, but he said it looked a lot worse than he actually feels. So welcome to Mr. Morrow back in the lineup.
Was there ever any doubt?
It was a relatively quiet day out at practice, mainly because there weren't enough people on the ice to consider the lines they had out there as gospel.
Here's the gist on the big hurts: Mike Modano said he was fine, and he will play tomorrow night. Brenden Morrow wasn't out there (spending the day with his newborns) but he's also expected to play tomorrow.
Jere Lehtinen and Stu Barnes are out for Game 4. And Mark Fistric was sick today, so he wasn't skating either. Doubt we would see him tomorrow, too.
So there are all the aches and pains, at least the physical ones. I haven't realized until now how beat up this team is. Not a complete excuse for what's happening, but... when you're missing anyone against Detroit, especially the bodies you are missing, that doesn't make things much easier.
The Stars have talked about the adversity they've faced all season. I'm fine with that. They've had their share, especially with all the injuries they've gone through, first with defense and now with the forwards. But this? This is definitely adversity with a capital A.
First, let's be honest about one thing: The Red Wings are good. Scary good. They do everything so tactically sound that you just sit there and shake your head. And I'm not even sure if close-to-perfect works against these guys. They just win. Everywhere. Can the Stars come back? Coming back from 3-0 is very unlikely, and not just ragging on the Stars here. Only two teams in the history of NHL playoffs has done it. It's just difficult no matter who you are.
Still, the Stars can't just fold up and disappear here. They've got to play like a team down 3-0 should play on Wednesday: Leave it all out there, like there's no tomorrow. They're very close to that being true.
Either the staff here at the AAC is ready for us journos to leave, or someone forgot to pay the electric bill. Or maybe it's just a sign of what's to come ...
The lights have gone out here in the arena, and in the press box. So here we sit, working in the dark. Call it mood lighting, call it happy hour lighting, call it darkness.
Luckily for me, I use a top-of-the-food chain Apple product with light-up keys, so at least I can see what letters I want to type.
-- Keeli Garza
A few notes from Monday's 5-2 loss to the Red Wings in Game 3:
Nicklas Grossman’s goal was his first-career goal (both regular season or playoffs).
Brad Richards’ goal snapped a three-game scoreless streak and was his third goal and 12th point of the playoffs.
Mike Modano’s assist on Grossman's goal gives him assists in three of his past five postseason games and was his seventh assist of the playoffs.
Brenden Morrow’s assist on Grossman's goal extends his career-long playoff point streak to five games (three goals and two assists). It was also his 25th career playoff assist.
Loui Eriksson’s assist on Richards' goal snapped a six-game scoreless streak and was his fourth assist and seventh point of the playoffs.
Joel Lundqvist’s assist on Richards' goal snapped an eight-game scoreless streak and was his fourth assist and fifth point of the playoffs.
Three Stars of the Game:
1. Pavel Datsyuk
2. Henrik Zetterberg
3. Brian Rafalski
-- Keeli Garza
Here's what Dave Tippett had to say after his team's 5-2 loss to the Red Wings in Game 3 on Monday:
You got the start you wanted as far as possessing the puck shots and everything. And yet they still ended up with the lead. Did it seem like the team was starting to get frustrated as the game went on? You're looking for things to build on. And I thought we'd come out, we played strong early. We had that one shift where we ended up getting the game tied up. So you feel like you've got a lot of momentum going your way and then the next shift, we gave it right back. ... And those were demoralizing things. Energy and when you start chasing the game you're using a lot more energy to do that. And things get ragged. They get very individual. And you tend to use a lot more energy. And I think once they got that short-handed goal in the third, it was like we chased from there on. And that's where we are.
What do you tell your guys tomorrow? This team has battled and been resilient all year, and we're not changing a thing. We'll go to practice tomorrow and we'll practice and gear up for Game 4, and come and compete our hardest and see if we can win a game.
You seem to be able to score on your scoring chances in your first two series. This one, you guys have had some chances, mismatches, whatever. Is that a confidence issue playing against this team? No, I think it's a matter of not scoring. We got some breaks in those series early. You look at the San Jose series. We found a way to make a couple of those breaks count for us. And we just haven't been able to do that this series. ... Our execution hasn't been what it needs to be. And some of that is due to Detroit, certainly, but our execution can be a lot better in a lot of situations. Not just shots on goal. I mean just passes that break out of your zone or plays that you need to make to get in the offensive zone, our execution just isn't where it needs to be right now.
When guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk are dangling like that, do you automatically think it's your team's fault? Or do you say 'they're just having one of those games' ? We didn't have much answer for them tonight. Those two are a rare breed, because they're a line that you look at that you should be checking, but in actual fact they're a checking line. So those players are a rare couple players. ... Like I say, the last goal we made some mistakes on, but they're just making plays that are, sure, can we defend them better. But they're making plays that are counting. That was the difference in the game tonight, for sure.
What's the report on Brenden [Morrow]? He's fine. He just got a stinger there, a little bit of a stinger. He'll be fine.
What about Modano? Looked like he was OK, but took a hit: Got a bump on the head. We'll see where he is tomorrow. He came back and played the third. So I don't see it being a problem.
-- Keeli Garza
What members of the Stars had to say after the 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals:
Stephane Robidas: Sometimes, you've just got to give that little extra and they seem to have that little extra. Not all the time. On the faceoff, the winger is helping the center in puck battles. They play well as a team. We've just got to go back to basics and play tighter as a team, help each other. Be closer together and just win the battles. I think that's the only thing we can do.
... I think we've got to clean up a little bit of mistakes. You can't give them any chances. They're a good enough team that they're going to create them on their own. You can't give them freebies.
Brad Richards: I don't know if we're overmatched. They're causing us to do things we don't want to do. That's what they're good at. The compete level is there, but sometimes we're just not smart in situations. We tie it up twice and they go down to score and take the lead again, and it's tough to do over and over again against a team like that.
... Right now, it's hard to have any mindset. We're pretty disappointed with this loss. When we wake up tomorrow, we're still in the series. We'll go from there and try to win a game. But obviously, right now, I'm not going to lie to you. It's very disappointing.
... They scored on their opportunities. We did some things, like I said earlier, that were uncharacteristic of our team and it cost us. You have to be very sharp in all areas. We battled and competed and our try was there, but we made some mental errors at key times in the game that took away a lot of momentum.
Marty Turco: It was a huge game. You've got to play with the utmost desperation. Guys were all trying. It's just not going where we need it to. It's sputtering along, but it's a seven game series, so we'll see what happens.
... It's hard for me to really say. I'm not sure what's going on other than the obvious of just getting outscored and not doing enough. My perspective is pretty simple. I'm out there just worrying about what I need to do and it just hasn't been good enough for me. I've just got to keep battling and get out there and do my thing. I haven't been giving our team the best chance to win. I've just got to start stopping some pucks.
-- Keeli Garza
It's OK, Stars fans. At least according to Stars head coach Dave Tippett. Tipp said in his postgame press conference that Brenden Morrow is OK. He just suffered a bit of a stinger on that arm/shoulder after falling awkwardly.
-- Keeli Garza
The Stars are in a position they haven't been in all playoffs -- they're on the brink of elimination.
Can the Stars back bounce from the 0-3 deficit?
Can they win at least one game in this series for a moral victory?
What are your feelings on the team's performance in the Western Conference Finals?
Tell us in the comments below, and stay tuned for some postgame quotables.
Programming note: Game 4 is Wednesday at the AAC in Dallas. The puck drops at 7 p.m., and you can watch the game on VERSUS. And, as always, you can watch this blog for all the latest in-game action.
-- Keeli Garza
Brenden Morrow went off the ice with what had to be a shoulder/arm injury. Morrow was looking to hit Brad Stuart, but instead collided with the boards. It wasn't that so much, however, as his fall. He landed on his left arm, landing awkwardly as it looked like the arm bent backward a little.
But somehow he gets back on the ice. He did go through the door instead of going over the boards(probably unable to put any weight on that left arm).
Henrik Zetterberg is crazy good. And he gave another example of that just a minute ago. The Stars are on the power play, yet Zetterberg gets it, puts a move on Brad Richards to face a 1 on 1 against Turco, and Zetterberg wins that one. The Wings are now up 4-2 on the shorthanded goal, at 1:38.
The Stars aren't using their craniums at times in this one, and the Red Wings are just using their bad moves to produce on the other end. So here we sit with the Wings leading 3-2 entering the final period. And the Wings, when they have a lead entering the final frame, usually aren't giving it up.
Also, Mike Modano got hit along the boards by Kris Draper. He crumpled, then slowly got up and went off the ice straight to the locker room. We'll see how he's doing. I was trying to see if he was caught up high or just caught off guard. Either way, if he's out...
Another miscue, this one on a change, and the Red Wings take advantage again. Jiri Hudler breaks through from the crowd, and backhands one through Turco for a 3-2 advantage. The Stars have to be perfect against this team; we've already seen how the Wings can pounce on errors.
Not sure if it was just a crazy bouncy puck or it hit off defenseman Niklas Cronwall, but the end result favors the Stars nonetheless. Brad Richards is on the rewarding end of this one, as his shot gets through to tie this one up again, 2-2, at 3:47. Credit Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist on the assists.
The energy was back, and the Stars got the momentum back when Nicklas Grossman sccored a pretty one at the 15:13 mark. This was set up, by the way, by a beautiful backhand pass from Mike Modano, who's up with Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro.
But 37 seconds later, it's Pavel Datsyuk again. The Wings got going, and Datsyuk poked home Tomas Holmstrom's attempt.
The Red Wings are on the power play as I type.
The Stars outshoot the Red Wings 5-0 at one point, they have all the energy, all the chances. And they're still losing.
Pavel Datsyuk scores, with Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski on the assists as the Wings are up 1-0 midway through the first period. This all started when both Brenden Morrow and Sergei Zubov turned the puck over. Anyway, it's more of the same for the Stars, at least for the moment.
Little bit of a mix tonight, with Stu Barnes and Jere Lehtinen out.
Lundqvist-Richards-Eriksson
Morrow-Ott-Ribeiro
Winchester-Modano-Conner
Hagman-Petersen-Miettinen
Jere Lehtinen did not skate this morning, which led us to figure he was out. Not necessarily, said Dave Tippett this morning. Apparently, Lehtinen is questionable right up until game time. He got treatment this morning, so I guess we'll see tonight.
Stu Barnes is out. Did not skate and we were told that yesterday.
It looks like Chris Conner will be out there tonight. He left a big impression on Mike Modano during training camp, when Modano called him a Theo Fleury-type player.
If you can't suspend them, hurt them in the next best place: The ol' pocketbook. Mike Ribeiro and Chris Osgood were fined undisclosed sums for their melee on Saturday night. As a quick sidenote, I've always wanted to make an undisclosed sum of money, just once in my life. Let's face it: If it's undisclosed, it's probably a lot.
Anyway, I'm off track. Steve Ott was also fined for his tender moment with Kris Draper with five seconds remaining in regulation on Saturday night. I think that's all there is to report on all this stuff for the moment. Thank goodness. It was already getting old as far as I was concerned. Let's get back to games, people!
Brenden Morrow and his wife, Anne-Marie, expanded their immediate family on Sunday afternoon. Anne-Marie gave birth to twins, a boy named Brady and a girl named Mallory. Stars PR said mother and newborns were doing just fine. No word on how dad was holding up.
Sorry, but I always have to post something when babies are born. I adore kids. It's adults I usually can't stand.
The Stars gathered out in Frisco on Sunday, with a few players coming out to talk. One was Mike Ribeiro, who didn't say much beyond what's already been said. Seems like everyone's moved on from this mess, although Ribeiro and Chris Osgood still think each should be suspended. Since it looks like neither is going to get his wish, let's focus on Game 3, shall we?
Ribeiro will be in, but we're not sure on Jere Lehtinen. Dave Tippett said it's a soft tissue injury to Lehtinen's leg, and it happened on a play after his forehead-to-forehead collision with Brenden Morrow. He's day to day, so we'll see what's shaking tomorrow. Stu Barnes will not play.
Here's a phrase you haven't heard much from me lately: This is must-win for the Stars, and in a different must-win way than the previous two rounds. Those times, it was win so the other team doesn't shrink your lead. This time the Stars are trying to survive. Down 3-0 is killer, let's face it. There's a reason only two teams in NHL playoff history have come back from it in a best-of-seven series.
OK, I'm done half-ranting and typing. I'm running on fumes at this point. But one last thing: Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there. Including mine.
