Five for Fighting

Marty's star and other musings

Marty Turco was named No. 2 star for his work in February. Turco was 9-2-0 with a shutout and a 1.90 goals-against average last month. Marty just needs one more victory to collect 30 for the fifth consecutive season. Not so shabby. He's probably starting on Wednesday night, too.

Mike Ribeiro was off today, and got an X-ray on his elbow. Quick evening update: He's day to day with a bruised elbow, so at least it doesn't sound like there's anything structurally wrong.

Krys Barch was out with the flu today. Matt Niskanen is feeling better and should be a go on Wednesday.

Meet the new guys

We had the meet-and-greet today in Frisco, and it looked like both of these guys were just happy to be here and ready to go. Especially Richards. I can imagine the last week or so has been rough for him, considering all the havoc being wreaked down in Tampa with the Lightning.

Anyway, Richards was with Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen at practice on Wednesday. Is that tomorrow's line? Who knows. Dave Tippett said not to read too much into all that hubub. So I won't. For the moment.

I talked with Johan Holmqvist about the trade. I didn't know if the guy knew he could be in the deal, considering Mike Smith's name coming up on the Stars' side. Turns out he had no idea.

"I didn't think it was out there," he said. "Then we're at practice (Tuesday) and I get a tap on the shoulder. It's a different situation, but I embrace it."

Turco starts

Marty Turco gets the start tonight against Edmonton. Don't know if Mike Smith gets the nod in Nashville tomorrow night. Tippett gave the "we'll see" response to that one.

Jeff Halpern (groin) will be a gametime decision. Meanwhile, Philippe Boucher continues to improve. He could be back in the lineup next week.

Turco to start

Marty Turco will get the start when the Stars and Flames square off on Wednesday. No big surprise there. Turco's pretty darned good against the Canadian teams, but he's been pretty darned good against everyone right now.

Who starts?

The big matchup against Detroit is tomorrow afternoon. So who do you start in goal? Dave Tippett wasn't revealing much on this afternoon. Here's an argument for both:

Turco is the No. 1 guy. Despite the fact he struggles mightily against the Wings, you would think if they met in the playoffs Turco would be in goal. He's on a roll now, winning six of his last seven starts. He said it wouldn't be something he thinks about now, but he's nevertheless coming off his 200th victory.

Smith is fresh right now and the team is not. Tippett mentioned today how Smith has come in and stolen a game in situations like this earlier this season, when the Stars were playing a few night games then an afternoon game in a short amount of time (happened against the NY Rangers in November and against Columbus in January).

So who starts?

Marty goes for 200

Marty Turco will go for his 200th victory when he starts Thursday night in Phoenix. Dave Tippett said he'll play the second part of that back-to-back by ear. Turco's on a personal five-game winning streak heading into Thursday night.

Turco is already the franchise's all-time leader in victories. But he's padding that number pretty well. Here are the top five:

1, Marty Turco 199
2, Ed Belfour 160
3, Cesare Maniago 145
4, Gilles Meloche 141
5, Jon Casey 128

Smith starts tonight

Mike Smith will get the start tonight against the Blues. He got the previous two starts against them this season. I wouldn't call it a huge surprise that Smith is starting. He was incredible in Minnesota, and Tippett said the "goaltender handbook" says you start the guy who got a shutout the last game.

Hard to argue with that, really.

Philippe Boucher was working with the group this morning. Still weeks away, but he was happy to be with the rest of the Stars again.

Goalie decisions

Marty Turco took a few shots out in Frisco today (not an organized practice, just he and Philippe Boucher out there working), and coach Dave Tippett said he'll see where Marty is tomorrow morning. Guessing if Marty says he's good, he's going tomorrow night against the Blues.

I joked with Tippett that he has a great "problem" when Turco and Smith are playing well. Just pick one, and you can't go wrong. Not so shabby a problem.

Oh, and don't get too excited about Boucher. Apparently, he was just taking some wristers at Marty. No slapshots on the docket yet. He's still a few weeks away.

Stephan back to Iowa

Tobias Stephan is headed back to Iowa after his quick emergency backup stint with the Stars in Minnesota on Thursday night. If nothing else, it means Marty would be healthy enough to play. I'll be checking in with Tippett soon, so we'll see if the goaltender decision will be made today or tomorrow.

Mr. Smith steals a game

Marty Turco or Mike Smith. Right now, it doesn't matter. They're both playing out of their minds, and it's given the Stars more breathing room in the Pacific (although San Jose has a whopping five games in hand). Smith was fantatsic tonight, and he needed to be because the Wild had some sizzling shots.

Credit Niklas Hagman for not getting frustrated enough to stop taking shots on Niklas Backstrom. His 20th goal of the season was pretty sweet, and it was enough with Smith at the other end.

The Stars will take tomorrow off before resuming against St. Louis on Saturday. Remember: 7 p.m. start on Saturday night. See you then!

Zubov on IR; Turco not here

Sergei Zubov has officially been placed on IR, retroactive to Jan. 17. Zubov isn't even skating right now, with that groin and foot still bothering him.

Marty Turco did NOT make the trip to Minnesota, so look for Mike Smith starting tonight. Tobias Stephan was recalled on an emergency basis as a backup tonight up here. Turco's neck was still pretty sore from the Tuesday night scrum. No real surprise that he would've been out anyway tonight, but I'm sure the Stars wanted to make sure they had a healthy backup just in case.

Turco OK

Scary moment here as Marty Turco was down for a minute or two. Jeff Halpern was pushed into him by Vancouver left wing Matt Cooke, and it looked like Turco took the brunt of the hit to his head.

But he shook it off. Cookie got 2 minutes for roughing.

Turco in tonight

It's rule No. 1 of hockey, kids: Don't ever, EVER pull the hot goaltender. And Mr. Turco is definitely that right now.

The Stars will be facing a Canucks team that is depleted on the blue line. Obviously they won't be sympathetic to the Canucks' situation, but they definitely have to understand the situation. I think Vancouver has five or six D-men sidelined right now (Willie Mitchell went out of the lineup with a cracked vertebra in his back when we were up there last week).
If nothing else, the Stars have to take advantage of a banged-up squad.

Turco honored

Marty Turco was named second star of the week by the NHL today. Going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average will do that for you. Mr. Turco was stellar this past week, so it's not surprising that he'll be starting again tomorrow against the Canucks.

Hard to pull the hot goaltender.

Thanks, Marty

That's what the Stars were saying in the locker room, often, after this one. And the thanks is well-earned. Turco was great on this trip, and he needed to be as the Stars had their moments of struggle and working off opponents' power plays. The "standing on his head" phrase was never uttered down there, but it should've been. It's been a while since Marty's had to lunge, bend, split, slide and contort himself the way he did against Calgary tonight.
But, boy, was it fun to watch.

I didn't get a chance to ask Niklas Hagman how he found that little spot for the game-winner. Pretty nifty goal.
Anyway, great trip up here, and great to finally see games in Edmonton and Calgary. There was great atmosphere, no doubt, and the Stars need to bottle this momentum for when they come back home.

Marty's mask

Saw the comment about Marty Turco's mask last night, and indeed he has a "somewhat" new one. This one has a white background, yet still has the gargoyles/dragons that he has on his black one. These dragons, however, are a little bit lower on the mask. And one of the dragons has a little goatee... Marty said that's for Steve Ott, who has one of his own.

I think the dragon's goatee is in better shape :)

Goalie talk

I love when they talk to the goaltenders during these games. Rick DiPietro barely starts the game when the Versus guys are asking him to comment on his hip pain from a scissor move the night before. So what happens? Yep, Rick Nash scores on him.

Ah, who are we kidding: Is any mic'd-up goaltender going to be any funnier than Marty Turco was last season?

Buzz-worthy?

I had gotten an e-mail about this from someone, so I figured I'd respond on here, too. It has been thrown out there on the website, www.hockeybuzz.com, that Marty Turco is being traded for Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Turco, by the way, has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Co-GM Les Jackson's response: "We are not trying to trade Marty Turco. He's a big part of our team. I think people who put rumors out there just want me to respond to it. It's a waste of time because it's just rumor."

Anyway, just wanted to respond to the masses on it since it's out there. Thoughts?

Turco starting, Jokinen returning

Marty Turco gets the start in goal tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres. I can't even remember the last time the Stars played the Buffalo Sabres (about two or three years ago, I think?) Anyway, they're in town already... a bunch of their coaches were up in the press box on Tuesday night.

And Jussi Jokinen is back in the lineup tomorrow, barring anything major happening in morning skate. The guy's been dying to get back onto the ice -- he had never missed more than two games in a row in his eight-year career before this latest injury. He was centering a line with Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen at today's practice. Don't know if that's set or what, but there you have it. Loui Eriksson was up with Morrow and Ribeiro.

Mr. Smith gets the start

Sorry, I forgot to post this earlier: Mike Smith gets the nod in goal tonight against the Blue Jackets. It's his second consecutive start against Columbus, after he put the Stars on his back and guided them to a victory on Saturday afternoon against said Jackets.

Thank goodness for goaltending

That's what the Stars were saying today, and for good reason. With the rest of the team living on fumes thanks to another long road trip and long flight home, Mike Smith was more than up to the task. The kid look good, and now he has left his coach in the best quandary: Deciding today's netminder.

Tippett said on Friday he would split the two this weekend; he backtracked off that after this game, saying the Stars would re-evaluate that decision tomorrow morning. They always want to go with the hot goaltender, right? Of course, Marty was pretty good in San Jose on Thursday.

Anyway, the Stars will take this one today and have no excuse for no energy tomorrow afternoon. And they'll need every bit of it against a very hot Anaheim team.

See you in less than 24 hours.

Smith in goal

Sorry, folks, I'm still on West Coast time!

Mike Smith gets the start today in goal, which (unless they change their minds) means Turco will go tomorrow.
B.J. Crombeen is in the lineup, and he and his other linemates just took the ice. Each of the top three lines are already getting sniffs at the net. Here are the combos:
Lundqvist-Halpern-Ott
Hagman-Modano-Eriksson
Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen
Barch-Barnes-Crombeen

Turco in, Zubov ?

Marty Turco gets the start against the plucky Duckies tomorrow night in Anaheim. As for Sergei Zubov, sounds like he's a gametime decision. He was in practice today, and it looked like everything was fine. So we'll find out tomorrow. Young defenseman Mark Fistric was still out there, too.

It's another beautiful day out here. I used to be down on the L.A. area, but I'm warming up to it pretty darned quick.

Smith in goal

Mike Smith gets the start in St. Louis tonight. The Stars have been around .500 in the second half of these back-to-backs this season (they were something like 13-2 last year), so I'm sure they'd like to get this one under their belts before taking that flight to Los Angeles later tonight.

It's been tough sledding in St. Louis, though.They haven't won there since Dec. 26, 2005.

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.

Who's in goal?

Mike Smith is apparently getting his third consecutive start tomorrow night. Marty Turco told the media that after practice, and Smith talked about the third start afterward.

Coach Tippett wasn't saying anything either way, other than to say it will be decided this morning.

Smith has been the hot goaltender, and the Stars like to go with the guy on a roll. Turco, though, is 2-0 against the Ducks this season.

Any thoughts here?