Being Down Three Games To None Hurts

 It makes Our Stars look really bad and kind of embarrasses me . I know Our Stars are disappointed and embarrassed as well .
 I watched this game on Vs. but (like always) I cannot stand their commentators and their incessant praise of the Red Wings , so I had our local radio station on for their commentary . I was still annoyed by Vs. in the fact that all they wanted to show at the AAC were Wings fans that showed up to the AAC before the game .
 Our Dallas Stars really took one in the chin with this loss . They did play their type of game for part of the first period and forced the Wings to go along with it . And Our Stars were doing well . At least until Datsuk scored his second goal of the night less than thirty-seven seconds after Our Stars tied things at one a piece . After that , Our Stars went into what looked like a panic mode . Their desperation was plain . When Richards scored to tie things at two , Our Stars had hope , but it was crushed when Hudler scored when our defensemen attempted to change and left him wide open for his breakaway goal . Zetterberg’s goal and Datsuk’s hattrick goal just iced the Wings’ cake .
 Our Stars did have a chance to win . They simply allowed the Wings to dictate the style of play and that cost them the game . When Our Stars were playing their type of game (although that time was short) , they were doing well . Once Our Stars went into a panic mode , they started making elementary mistakes . Those mistakes cost Our Stars a game they could not afford to lose . Too often , Our Stars were caught with their guard down .
 Despite the amount of powerplay time Our Stars had , they could not capitalize on any of them . If anything , their powerplay looked weaker than when they were even strength . Having no powerplay to speak of is not a good thing . I am not sure on this , but I believe that Our Stars have only scored two powerplay goals against the Wings this entire series , despite having far more opportunities . The shorthanded goals have been coming in droves for the Wings against the Stars . Allowing shorthanded markers is no way to win . Far more penalties were earned by the Wings than they were called for , but it really mattered little . The Wings have proven that they are just as dangerous to Our Stars without a man as they are full strength .
Losing Stu Barnes and Jere Lehtinen definitely hurt Our Stars . They were already at a disadvantage as it was . Losing your best defensive forwards is no way to stave off a powerful offense . I know that it is not their faults , but losing them certainly did not help Our Stars’ cause .
 Marty Turco has not played his best against the Wings . I do not buy into the fact that he just cannot beat the Wings , I do think that the team in front of him lets him down more often against the Wings . Turco does have to answer breakaway chances and , so far , he has not done that .
 Our Stars’ margins for error have evaporated with this loss . If they want to win this series they cannot make any mistakes from here on out . I know that the odds are stacked against them in a huge way , but even if they do not win this series , they at least need to win one stinking game against them . I would hate for Our Stars to get swept .
 While Our Stars did not make horrid mistakes or even countless amounts of mistakes , they were made to pay for every single one they did make . The Wings capitalized on many of those elementary mistakes and have done so every single game in this series .

Personal note ;
 I just don’t understand . I followed every single hockey superstition I have . I dressed from left to right , dusted my barstool autographed by the entire team (even though it may not have needed it) , drank one Molson Canadian each period , wore a shirt that Our Stars win when I wear , allowed no one to interrupt the game , I showered before the game , I wore a good luck shirt to work , and I did not turn on my computer (that generates enormous amounts of bad luck) . I did everything I could do to help Our Stars win , short of making burnt offerings to the hockey gods (which my wife no longer allows) . I just hope and pray that Our Stars do everything they can do to win .
 All I want is Our Stars to win . No less , no more .

Mother’s Day Hockey Blog

 Due to circumstances beyond my control , I am exceptionally short on time to blog about game two in Detroit . I will touch on just a few things , since I am still very opinionated . 
 Thank the hockey gods that Our Dallas Stars actually showed up to play instead of just skate (or stand as the case was) . I was relieved that they actually looked like they wanted to attempt to win . I was still disappointed that they lost . I cannot believe that they played to the best of their ability , though . The Stars did not get to where they are by being a sorry team . Only the Flyers and the Bolts can claim that . I have faith that they can pull things together and win . I know it sounds cheesy , but I will not give up on my team no matter how bad it may look . Besides , it is called a series for a reason . “It ain’t over ’til it’s over , and it ain’t over .”
 The garbage that ensued after the game was over was just that . Garbage . Osgood claimed hitting Ribeiro in the face with his stick was an accident and then after taking Ribeiro’s stick squarely in the chest PADS , he falls to the ice seeming as if he were dying . His stick end hitting Ribeiro’s face MIGHT have been an accident , but when Ribs retaliated and Osgood threw himself to the ice , he lost all credibility with me . Especially once the replay made it VERY clear that Ribs’s stick hit nothing but pads . If it had hit his neck , like I had originally thought , then I could have seen how his reaction would have been called for , but it was not . It was simply acting . He gets the Oscar for that . To be fair , when I thought that Ribs’s stick had hit Osgood’s throat , I was outraged , probably just as much as any Red Wings fan (it shames me to have anything in common with any Wings fan , though - except for the love of hockey) .
 I still have hope for Our Dallas Stars no matter how they sit in the series . I will always love my team .

 On a side note ;
  It is hard medicine to take looking at my Dallas Stars calendar that hangs next to my computer . Jeff Halpern (in the ‘06 -’07 uniform) is the player for the month of May . Not only is he “owned” by the Bolts , he will not be playing until February of next year because of the recent injury to his knee . I hated my calendar last month as well , because Jussi Jokinen (in the ‘06 -’07 uniform) was that month’s player . Talk about taking a bitter pill …………..

Conference Finals or Pre-Season ?

 To tell the truth , the game looked more like a pre-season game .
 Our Dallas Stars got plowed under in their first game of the conference finals . By Coach Tippett’s own words , “We did a lot of standing ” and “we were not at the level that we needed to be .” I could not agree more . Our Stars need to be on top of things instead of chasing things . Chasing the Wings is what they did all season . They do not need to continue that trend in this series .
 Our Stars were destroyed in the face off circle with a thirty-eight win percentage . Since the Wings are a puck possession team , that is a terrible thing . The Wings dominated this game in every way imaginable . They tore up Our Stars and made them look like they still had not settled on which players from the junior leagues they wanted to play . After the first period ended , I almost wanted to turn the game off . I was appalled .
 Our Stars did seem to do far too much standing , and they did seem to just be amazed at how good the Wings were playing . Every mistake Our Stars made , no matter how small , the Wings were there to capitalize on it . There were far too many miscues and unforced turnovers . Their positioning was equally terrible .
 I will not argue the third goal being allowed despite the rule about opposing team’s players being in the blue paint when the goal was scored or even the exceptionally weak roughing call that put the Wings on a five on three powerplay . I will not argue those calls because , I cannot say that it would have helped Our Stars to play any better . Maybe if they had come out onto the ice looking determined to win , it might have mattered then , but it certainly did not matter when Our Stars performed so poorly .
 Our Stars looked terribly rusty as if they had not played in weeks . I know that they may have still been tired , but they cannot be anything but determined and focused for a game against an opponent who plays so well . This game looked like the first game in the series with the Sharks . Our Stars did not look ready to play and the Wings capitalized on that mistake , unlike the Sharks . Turco stole that game , but Marty , The Cap’n and Brad Richards cannot win the game all by themselves .
 This was the hardest game I can ever remember watching . Normally , I love watching my team play but I had to force myself to watch this game . I think it would have helped if it looked like Our Stars had managed to generate more than what seemed like three or four good shifts . Please do not misunderstand me , I love my team , but it is hard to watch your favorite team get so thoroughly whipped .
  Sadly , I think Razor was right when he said that the only thing good about the game was that Our Stars could not play worse and that they could only get better . I hope so . I hope that Our Stars recorded this game so that they can look back at it and say , ”This is what NOT to do . Let’s fix it .” I have faith that they can . They definitely need to have a good second game in this series so that their confidence level can be raised back up .
 Stephane Robidas said , “I know we can play better.” and I know they can , too . I just hope that they remember that . And soon .

Cap’n Morrow’s Revenge

 This game was a huge game and not just because it lasted over five hours . Both teams knew this was a “do or die” game . Both teams gave everything that they had and it was just not the Sharks’ year to take home The Cup . It looks like all those guys who predicted the Sharks were going to take home The Cup forgot to add Our Dallas Stars into the equation . I , for one , am very pleased that they did , too . 
 This game was an absolute goaltending clinic . Both Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov showed off their skills in such fine fashion . They seemed to defy all laws of physics with their uncanny stops on huge chances . I have never in my life seen a better game of goaltending . Any other goalies in the league would have let FAR more goals by . Marty Turco deserved this win , but so did Nabokov . I am so happy that Turco won it with his skills . Of all the goalies out there , Turco truly deserved this win . He has made saves in this run in the playoffs that should have erased all thoughts of Turco being a sub-par goalie . He may not have had a record amount of shutouts or even wins this season , but he gets the wins when they count , like in this game .
 Brenden Morrow played an incredible game . He was everywhere when he came over the wall . He played fabulous defense and he obviously earned the game winning goal . Despite his hat trick being disallowed in the last game , I am sure if he knew he would get the game winner in this game , he would have gladly given it up for that one goal . I am sure nothing except a Stanley Cup win would have been sweeter . I am so proud of him . This is truly Cap’n Morrow’s team . I am glad he got his revenge on the Sharks .
 Joel Ludqvist had a huge game as well , despite not managing to beat Nabokov . He had huge chances to score but like so many other Stars’ players , he was sent away by Nabokov empty handed . Lundqvist did his best and it showed . Often it seemed that the Sharks forgot , or wrote off , his skills and gave him several quality chances . I give him the honorary fourth star of the game award .
 So many of Our Dallas Stars players played so very well it was unbelievable . When the overtime periods started , I thought that they might run out of gas and only be running on fumes . That proved not to be the case . Both teams still played as hard as they did in regulation . All I can say is , thank the hockey gods that they had five million IV bags ready for the players or else we would have been watching dead men skating . Dehydration would have killed them all . I was truly impressed with their continued “no quarter” given attitude and their all out attacks .
 I was also VERY , VERY proud of the fans in the AAC . The did just like their team and never gave up . They stayed all night (most of them standing for all of the overtime periods and most of the third period) despite the game ending at near 1:30 in the morning Dallas time . It is the sign of true fans to stay AND cheer that late knowing you will have to fight traffic from the morning shifts to stay out to give your team love . It was all I could do to stay up for the game as well . When The Cap’n finally ended the Sharks’ season , I thought the fans at the AAC were going to erupt into the streets . I guess that they were too tired for rioting . I know I was .
 When voting time for our new president comes around , vote for Marty Turco . He always seems to come through when everything is on the line . He is calm under fire and has shown that he can handle great pressure . He makes better decisions than most of the other players in his position and he is easily approachable . He also is the goaltenders representative in the NHLPA . That shows leadership . I think that despite not being a natural born citizen of the United States , he should be a shoe-in . We should allow that silly little rule to be broken for him . Remember to cast you vote in the elections for Marty Turco . Turco For President 2008 ! I can easily see a landslide victory in this election .

 To the Red Wings ;
  Clean up the Joe Lewis Arena and make some room , because The Dallas Stars are coming to town . Oh , and get your Kleenex ready . You guys will need them when you start crying over a lost series to a team who was not supposed to make it past the first round . You may not be afraid of Our Dallas Stars , but “you will be . You will be .”

Sharks Get Win For Early Christmas Gift From Refs

 What a crock . I cannot believe that the refs and the guys in Toronto both made such stupid and poor decisions . They absolutely gave the Sharks the win when they waved off The Cap’n’s goal that they called kicked in . There was ABSOLUTELY NO KICKING MOTION ! He was stopping in the crease and only remotely aware of where the puck MIGHT be . For crying out loud he was not even looking in the direction of the puck . They did make the correct call on his other waved off goal , but The Cap’n was crosschecked in the back when it bounced off of his glove . If he had had the space , he might have been able to do something with the puck , but with being crosschecked in the back , he had no way to move the puck to a playable position . And , of course , the crosscheck went uncalled .
 After the first period , I had already realized the the officiating was going south at a rapid pace . Countless penalties went uncalled that were committed by both teams . The thing that frustrates me the most about how this game was called was that penalties have been called against The Stars that the Sharks have done AND BEEN ALLOWED TO DO ! That holds true not just for this game but for the whole series . It seems like the NHL is doing their best to make sure that all those fools who predicted the Sharks to win The Cup look good instead of giving their opponents a real chance .
 Everybody knows that the NHL has their favorite teams that they want to win . I just wish my team was one of the NHL’s favorite so they would be able to upset other teams without earned goals being waved off .
 In a world where things were done right , Washington would have made it to the second round and Our Dallas Stars would be playing the Detroit Dead Things two days from now instead of the stupid Sharks . If the Dallas Stars end up losing this series because of this game , I will be soooooooo far beyond angry .
 Thank you NHL . Two words ; thrown game .

Turnovers Plague Stars In Loss To Sharks

 In case you had not heard , Our Dallas Stars did not manage to sweep the Sharks . I really did not expect or really want Our Stars to sweep the series .
  I know this will sound odd , but I do not like the thought of a sweep , as wonderful as it might have been . I think that if Our Stars had swept the series , they could have been too over confident despite their down to earth approach over the last series and this one . Over confidence against their next opponent (most likely the Dead Things) could spell the end of their playoff run . Our Dallas Stars seemed to be a bit rusty in the first game of this series against the Sharks and it could spell disaster if they went into the next round with that little bit of rust in their game when they play the Detroit Dead Things (let’s be honest , the Avs are facing an almost impossible challenge to dig themselves out of a three game hole) . I have confidence in Our Dallas Stars that they will eventually will beat out the Sharks , this last game was a simple theft of a game . Marty Turco was quoted on the Sharks’ website as saying , “Back to back was tough on both clubs . But I don’t think we ever thought we were going to win four straight against these guys . We just didn’t have the magic tonight .”
 It was the turnovers that destroyed the game for Our Dallas Stars . They suffered from twenty-five give aways , but the Sharks suffered from twenty . Two turnovers , one by each team , were costly on the scoresheet . Marleau and Lehtinen scored directly off of turnovers . Accidents happen but Our Stars must clean them up if they want to take out the Sharks and move on to the next round .
 Very much like the first game in this series , the winning team stole the game from the losing  team . The Sharks were out-played . Our Stars had momentum despite a terrible first period full of penalties . Our Stars need to clean up their gameplay so they are not giving up so many powerplay chances to the Sharks . Brenden Morrow was quoted on the Sharks’ website as saying , ” Our discipline was one of our keys to success and we lost it tonight . We put together some good shifts but it’s tough to gain momentum when you are killing penalties that often .” Our Stars were definitely not lethargic or reserved on the penalty kill , but The Cap’n is right on the mark with his words . You can gain momentum off of a penalty kill , but Our Stars have not been able to post goals short-handed in the playoffs .
 Patrick Marleau seems to be able to own Turco on break-aways . Perhaps Our Stars should look into chaining him to the Sharks’ goal post like you might do to a guard dog . That or at least get him chained to one of those old tyme leg chains with the cannon ball on the end of it .
 With Stu Barnes out from a hit from Jonathan Cheechoo’s shoulder , I was sure that Our Stars would have difficulty on the penalty kill . I was wrong . They did not have difficulty killing penalties until Michalek scored the game winning goal in the third period . It was a shame that Our Stars lost , but they did have to give up one game out of politeness (I will call it that anyway) . It is going to be hard enough in the Pacific division next year but if you add in a sweep in the playoffs , it would make feelings even harder . Please do not misunderstand , I did not want Our Stars to lose , but everything has to have a little balance . Stephane Robidas was quoted as saying , ” You don’t want to give them life . We gave them momentum a little bit . The sooner we can close them out , it’ll be better for us .” Let us hope that Our Stars close them out in the Shark Tank on Friday .
  One win is enough for the Sharks in this series . I do not believe in too many gifts to your opponents . They have their token win and now it is time for Our Dallas Stars to finish them off once and for all .
 Our Stars will win this series , in that I have no doubt . They do have issues to address , but they know what they are doing and know what they need to fix . I am sure Coach Tippett will help them to remember what they need to do .
 I still BELIEVE . So should you .

Over-Confident Sharks Flounder At AAC

Before the loss from the second game in San Jose was two hours old , the Sharks were positive and confident about playing an away game at the American Airlines Center . They were confident in their locker room after their loss that they would come into Dallas and beat them up . They had believed that since they had been a great road team all season , they wrongly believed that Our Stars were a poor home team . Thus the over-confidence .
 The game started out very fast paced with lots of puck movement . The Sharks went on the powerplay after about three minutes , thanks to a highstick in Campbell’s face from Lehtinen . Thornton and Marleau combined for an attempt that was blown dead after the linesman lost sight of the puck . The Sharks coach , Ron Wilson , was still complaining about the whistle . He was quoted as saying “The puck’s laying in the crease , he put it in . It should be a goal . He (the ref) made a mistake.” Quality whining , Wilson . Stay in character and do not let us down out here , we never expect good sportsmanship from any teams in California . After that much talked about powerplay “no goal” Robidas committed a trip of his own . Our Stars struggled to clear the puck , but when they finally did , they received a short-handed attack led by Fistric. The game moved back along very swiftly withmany quick attacks by both teams . Mo took a shot on Nabokov that he could not control the rebound and Ott went sniffing around Nabokov for the rebound but was assaultedby both Goc and Vlasic for his efforts . A short time later after another play ended , Roenick showed his frustration by punching Robi in the shield . Smart Roenick , real smart , hit the one guy on the ice who has a full cage on his head . Joel Lundqvist had a great shot that hit the post , but after the play had ended there was enough pushing and shoving that Ott , Daley and Michalek all went to the box for roughing . The powerplay for the Sharks was a very sad excuse for one . When it ended Thornton crosschecked Ribeiro in the back right off the faceoff and he went to the box . Our Stars were getting set up in the Sharks’ zone for their first powerplay until Zubov turned over the puck to Marleau who raced it down to Turcoand planted it in the back of the net . With Our Stars down one to nothing , the period ended . This period was a very hard hitting one . Both teams came out with the intent to put the hits on the other players and they did . This period was also full of poor officiating . I understand letting the players play , but be even and fair on how things are called but then the entire game went like that - off balanced penalties that would be called for one team and not the other - go figure .
 The second period started with Our Stars on the powerplay for an additional thirty seconds that was promptly killed off by an icing call and the linesman . Our Stars started attacking hard and The Cap’n , Ribs and Lehtinen again owned the Sharks’ zone anytime they came over the boards . Not only did those three do well , but ALL of Our Stars’ forwards had great attacks in the first half of the period . After many times of being hemmed in their own zone , the Sharks finally manage to get a few attacks into Oiur Stars’ zone . This marks the beginning of the Sharks “one and out” attacking . They only manage to get 0one shot towards Turco and then the puck is cleared . It went like this for the remainder of the game . Semenov took a penalty for hooking late in the period to again allow a period to end and begin with Our Stars on the powerplay .
 The third period started with Our Stars on the powerplay for another minute and seven seconds . Ehrhoff took a hooking penalty almost immediately and gave Our Stars a five on three powerplay . It only took twelve seconds for Zubov to put the puck in the back of the net by deflecting it off a Sharks player . Zubov’s goal really seemed to wake Our Stars and work them into a frenzy . They started attacking harder and more consistently . The Cap’n gave Rivet a hard check that knocked him into Campbell who was dazed by the helmet to head from his teammate . Daley and Richards led a three on one attack that shamefully fizzled out . Hagman had a beautiful breakaway chance and was hooked down from behind giving Hagman a penalty shot . Hagman tried , but the ice was already so chewed up that he could not puck handle enough to get the job done . Our Stars were not discouraged by this and continued to attack the Sharks very hard . Even though Our Stars had lots of time in the Sharks’ zone , the Sharks would never give up the inside of the ice and did not allow many shots to get through . Our Stars were swarming the puck every time it came into their zone . Marty only had to deal with four shots at him in this period . With less than a minute left , I thought Lehtinen and Niskanen were going to end it all , but this game was headed to overtime .
Overtime started with most of the players sniffing smelling salts on the benches . I did not want overtime , they both play the next day at eight at night . Our Stars started attacking again just like they had been in the third period . Eriksson , Richards and Lunqvisthad a great attack . The Sharks came back with one of their own , but both goalies were playing the part of stone walls . After an icing call broght the puck back down in the Shaks’ zone , Tippett got fresh legs out there to keep the Sharks tired and stuck in their own zone . His plan worked . Norstrom scored when he riccoched the puck off of Roenick past Nabokov . I did notice on the scoresheet that they did not give the assist to Roenick and that is a shame ……..

 What Happened To The “Underdog” Dallas Stars ? ;
 
After taking it to the Ducks in the first round and now sitting on a three game lead over the Sharks , I hope people are starting to pay attention . Too many people wrote off Our Dallas Stars far earlier in the season . Now that Our Stars are winning , even the stupid Vs. network is forced to mention them and they hate talking about Western Conference teams . I am not saying that they know jack about them , because they do not even know any of our players’ names , but it is nice to have recognition ripped from someone who does not want to give it away .
 Whiner Roenick was quoted after the game as saying, “It’s amazing how we can’t get a bounce in this series .” Nabokov was quoted as saying ,” There’s no quitting in this room . All the games have been pretty close . It’s been little bounces here and there . …We have to regroup and forget these games .” Yeah Nabby , you regroup and forget these games and when you lose again , it will be fo the final time and since you had forgotten these games you will wonder forever how you made it out to the golf course .
 Our Stars have played very well . They all did their jobs .  Cap’n Morrow has done a fabulous job of making this team his . Razor said that he has really made this team his . I did not agree with when it became his , but I do agree that it is . He has been a top notch player all season and led by example .
 I truly believe that Our Stars have the ability to sweep the Sharks with a win in game four . I do not think it would be a good thing , though . Too much time off makes you soft and you lose your focus . Of course if the stupid Detroit Dead Things sweep the Avs (and that looks VERY likely) that time off would be nonexistent .
 In other news , Jeff Halpern was named as the US National Team’s Captain on the 28th . Check out the rest of the team and even live games at wcsn.com .
 My favorite thing about Our Dallas Stars winning this game was when , last night as I was putting my nine year old daughter to bed early because of TAKS testing today , I told her I would be happy to tell her that the Sharks lost in the morning (she is sadly a Sharks fan in a house full of Stars fans) . When Our Stars did , win I was ecstatic to be able to tell her that the Sharks did indeed lose . I told her she should have chosen a good team to like instead of the Sharks , but she never listens to me .  

“Shark Tank” Poisonous For San Jose Sharks

 The poor Sharks just cannot seem to survive in their own arena . Ironic isn’t it ? A shark tank full of fish floating belly up . They have struggled at home all season and those troubles have followed them to the playoffs thanks in no small part to a very well played game by Our Dallas Stars .
 Before the game , I was checking on when the game was going to start and what channel it was going to be broadcast on and happily discovered that Vs. was not my forced provider . Thankfully , Ralph Strangis and Daryl “Razor” Reaugh would be the commentators on my local channel of 27 . I was so happy I was not forced to suffer through another game filled with inane Vs. commentary . When Ralph and Razor said that Zubov was going to return , I was overcome with shock and joy so much that I temporarily speechless . That was remedied a very short time later when I told my wife that Zubov was coming back . She yelled “YAY!” for me .
 The game itself started off better for Our Stars than the last first period . The Sharks were not allowed free entry into the Stars zone right off the opening faceoff . Grossman took a holding the stick penalty about three minutes in and the resulting powerplay was effectively killed off . When that one ended , Turco gave them a second powerplay with an interference call . Turco made good on his part of the penalty kill when Roenick tested him and he made another fabulous save immediately after that . Lundqvist’s (who was serving Turco’s penalty) quick exit from the box helped Cap’n Morrow to have a decent attack on Nabokov . Goc and Lundqvist had a disagreement and their shoving match earned them both roughing minors . The four on four play had the Sharks attacking when Zubov took a hooking penalty and Turco was tested immediately on the resulting four on three . The dangerous four on three play ended scoreless thanks to an incredible effort by Our Stars . The shortened powerplay for the Sharks did not end as positive for Our Stars , though . Rivet took a hard shot that Pavelski deflected right in front of Turco , who never had a chance to stop the redirect . The Sharks were bolstered by the goal and again attacked imediately . Modano , Ott and Barnes had a huge attack with Zubov’s and Norstrom’s help but they could not beat Nabokov . Richards , Eriksson and Hagman followed up with an attack in which Eriksson missed the net by mere inches . The Cap’n , Ribeiro , Lehtinen and Norstrom followed up that attack with a great attack of their own and Ribs bounced one in the net off Nabokov’s skate from behind the goal line . The Cap’n , Ribs and Lehtinen finish their shift with yet another attack that ends with Nabokov lying flat on his back and The Cap’n sniffing around for rebounds (and he actually patted Nabokov on his chest to make sure he was alright after the play) . This period was far better than the last first period that the teams played in game one . Even with Our Stars giving up the first goal , they came out to play much harder than they did in the first game .
 The second period started out with mostly neutral zone play . Niether side could get past their opponent’s blue line for long . Both teams had a large amount of turnovers , both forced and unforced . Stu and Turco combined to save a goal that truly frightened me . Our Stars attacked back with good attacks and solid play . Lundqvist took an interference call but that powerplay was beautifully killed off . Zubov almost scored , but the foot race back to Turco from the rebound off Nabokov was lost by Our Stars . When Turco missed with a poke check , Michalek scored on what was essentially an empty net goal . Our Stars attacked back hard and on their second attack , Mo banged a shot off the goal post so hard that it shook the net on its moorings and shook the goal camera fiercely . On the bench immediately following the shot , he was cussing himself and shaking his head . The period ended with the score two to one , Sharks . It was not a bad period , despite the goal that the Sharks scored . Our Stars played well and had more time in the offensive zone .  Steve Ott and Robidas were the best penalty killing players in both of periods one and two .
 The third started with a turnover to Richards from a falling Pavelski . Richards buried the puck in the back of the net behind Nabokov after a mere thirty-two seconds had passed in the period . Later , Sharks coach Ron Wilson would call this goal a “lucky break” . It did not make it count any less and Our Stars had a tie game on their hands . Mo took a tripping penalty even though Mo only touched the guy after he had already started his rapid descent to the ice of his own accord and was in no way helped to the ice by Mo . Ott had a great one man attack that drew a holding penalty from Ehrhoff for yet another four on four (even though it was a weak holding call , I guess the refs felt bad for making such a piss-poor tripping call) . The four on four had both teams exchanging attacks , but as soon as Our Stars went on the powerplay , Zubov made a great spinning pass and Mo made up for the shot that hit the pipe earlier when he buried the puck in the net . Rivet took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and when he arrived in the box , he started throwing things and cursing , proving that he deserved his penalty . The resulting powerplay had The Cap’n , Ribs , Lehtinen , Richards and Zubov with good attacks but no goals . A little while later , Richards raced into the Sharks zone and as he was fading behind the net , he made a pass right to Hagman who pounded the puck quickly past Nabokov . The Sharks attempted to mount some semblance of an attack , but all they could manage to get was a few weak attacks that never tested Turco . Nabokov went out of the game for an artificial timeout for the Sharks and Brian Boucher stood in net for a few moments until he skated off after thirty-seven seconds for the extra attacker . Richards spotted Hagman uncovered at the point and he put the final nail in the coffin of this game and destroyed all hope for the Sharks with his empty net goal . Despite knowing they had lost the game , the Sharks did not give up and kept attacking Our Stars . The game ended with Murray in the box for roughing and the score five to two for Our Stars .

Stars Lead Series Two Games To None ;

 This game started very well for Our Stars . They came out ready to play right from the start completely unlike the last game . Our Dallas Stars earned this win with their hard work . Every player went out on the ice and they did their own individual jobs and they again succeded . When they do that , they fill every part of their team and make the team whole . Hockey is a team sport and Our Stars have become a very well oiled machine and a winning team .
 Again , Marty Turco played a very good game and was rewarded from Daley with a kiss on his facemask . An odd tradition to be sure , but whatever . Turco played fabulous and earned his third star of the game .
 Brad Richards played a huge game . Three assists and one goal is certainly nothing to sneeze at . Perhaps if he has one more game like that , my bitterness about losing Halpern , Jokinen and Smitty may be completely gone . Then again , I probably will not be satisfied until Our Stars hoist The Cup at the AAC .
 Stephane Robidas played very well . He made huge defensive plays (like he always does) and a few of them without his stick . I am very happy that he is finally getting the recognition he so rightly deserves .
 The Cap’n , Ribs and Lehtinen owned the Sharks every time they came across the boards . They completely dominated gameplay from the first time they touched the puck on every shift . The Sharks have given Ribs lots of time with the puck in their zone . If they want to beat Our Stars , they cannot allow that . Cap’n Morrow has been a driving force on that line and a real on-ice role model for the rest of the team to follow . Lehtinen’s fine defensive work and ability to steal pucks has balanced the line very well . It has been a few too many games since his name was on the scoreboard . I think he is due for a goal , and soon .
 Despite the fact that Zubov played only sixteen minutes (believe it or not sixteen minutes is low for a guy who usually plays for thirty plus minutes a game) , he played very well for his first game back . I am very glad he came back when he did . Our Stars have proven they can win without him , but why suffer when you can benefit from somebody that skilled back in your line up ?
 In other playoff news , I still think the Flyers need to lose and be home golfing or beating up people inth estreets like other bullies do instead of playing hockey . They do not deserve to be where they are now , the Capitals do . Stupid Flyers . I wish the stupid Penguins would hurry up and lose as well . I do not think their band wagon has room for any more band wagon-riders . Sadly , at the begining of last season , you could not PAY anybody to TAKE tickets to a Pens game and now you have to sell you home and anything else that is not bolted down (and some things that are) for BAD seats to any of their games . Now that is a full band-wagon . Oh , and I think their “white-out” is exceptionally stupid . Go buy a bottle of the stuff , put it over the Pens’ score and call it good . Then , take Crosby out in the sunshine , that kid is too pale to ever be called normal looking .   

Mauled Stars Manage To Win In Overtime

The game was nowhere near as dominating by Our Dallas Stars as round one’s game one was . In fact , if anything , I would say that the Sharks dominated the game , just not the scoreboard .
 The game started with the Sharks on the attack almost from the word go . Turco answered all of the shots that came his way and kept the game moving forward in the early attacks but Nabokov’s first faced shot , he held for the whistle . Stu Barnes took a weak hooking call , but Rivet ended that when he put his ass in Turco’s face . The resulting four on four hockey was relatively uneventful . The commentators on Vs. proved that they are stupid whiners when they complained about Ott chopping a Sharks player that went uncalled . News flash Vs. commentators , you are supposed to be impartial to both teams on a national broadcast and not so obviously one-sided . The Sharks attacked hard and Norstrom went to the box for hooking . The Sharks attacked very hard on the powerplay but they could not beat Turco no matter how often they tested him . Our Dallas Stars did have a powerplay , but it was so weak it really does not warrant mentioning .
 The second period started with both teams attacking in turn . Turco got the first stop but when he relaxed the puck dropped out and slid into the net . Other goalies would have had the whistle by the time Turco dropped it out of his equipment . They gererously credited Michalek with the goal . Setoguchi took a hooking call in the play immediately after the goal and on the first shift of the powerplay , Modano buries the puck past Nabokov to even the score at one a piece . Vs. network continues their stupidity and shows replays over the game that is actually going on so that the home audience gets to miss part of the game . When they finish their stupidity and the game comes back , Our Stars are attacking and begining to generate some momentum . Ribeiro , Morrow and Lehtinen started a great attack and The Cap’n makes it happen when he scores from his “office” in front of the net . The Sharks attack back immediatley after the goal but to no avail . Turco stood tall and took it all away from the Sharks . “Soft” passing by Our Dallas Stars seemed to plague them for turnovers or at least broken plays . Grier was called for an elbow , but Our Stars powerplay was weak at best . Both teams then exchange weak attacks until Robi was called for hooking . With one minute remaining on the Sharks’ powerplay the period ended .
 The third period started with one more minute left on the Sharks’ powerplay . It was effectively killed off by Our Stars . At about the sixteen minute mark , Mo took a hooking call for another Sharks’ powerplay . As soon as it started , Robidas was tripped and the stupid commentators said that it was “a good no call” . Idiots prove their stupidity repeatedly . Despite the stupidity off the ice , Our Stars were smart on the ice and only allowed shots from the perimiter on the powerplay despite lots of the zone time . After the powerplay ended , the Sharks kept up their attacks . Our Dallas Stars started to manage to get brief attacks during the Sharks incessant attacks . After Ribs , The Cap’n and Lehtinen attacked , Miettinen , Petersen and Hagman attacked as well . After Lundqvist , Richards and Eriksson attacked , things broke down and Cheechoo scored when he is practically standing on top of Turco when he forces the puck past him from two inches away . I did not like this goal . It was ugly and I thought it was garbage to allow it since it looked like Tuco was mauled in his own crease with the four other Sharks players in there with him . Our Stars got a powerplay courtesey of Campbell’s interference on Mo and Lehtinen had a huge chance to win the game , but he hit the post in his haste to put it on net . There was fighting for the puck and attempts to score right down to the final seconds . This game was destined for overtime .
 Overtime was fast paced and short . After only four minutes of back and forth attacking by both teams , Our Stars managed to wrest away the upper hand . They charged into the Sharks zone and made some great passes that got the Sharks scrambling and Nabokov out of position . Robi’s quick circle around back behind the net helped to insure Nobokov’s panic . Robi passed the puck off to Norstrom , who in turn passed it to an open Cap’n Morrow and he did not waste any time buring it past Nabokov in the net .

 Round two , game one ;

 The Sharks may have just mauled Our Stars , but Our Stars looked like they brushed aside most of the damage . Our Dallas Stars were certainly outshot , but the shots that counted were the ones on the scoreboard .
 I was less than pleased with Our Stars’ gameplay despite the win . They looked slow and like they were not ready to play . Tippett agreed with my thought because he said that the team needed to do better . He said that he would take the win , but that his team needed to work harder . Our Stars looked like they had taken more than a few days off . Only Turco , Robidas and Morrow looked as sharp as they always do .
 This game reminded me of how much I hate the Vs. Network . First , the commentators do not know how to pronounce our players’ names . Then , they called the line of Petersen , Miettinen and Hagman “the Forgien Line” . WHATEVER ! Petersen is from Mineapolis Minnesota ! Idiots ! They also called Turco lucky on several occasions implying that he was not really a great goaltender , merely one whom the hockey gods had granted him their luck for the game . They also said that Turco handled the puck in the trapezoid that it is illegal for goalies to handle the puck in . I wished (hard) at that point there was not a ten second delay from radio to television , so I could listen to WBAP 820 am’s braodcast of the game , instead of hearing the idiots on the Vs. network . Every time I am forced to watch a game in the Vs. network , I am reminded (painfully) of how stupid and foolish the men that they hire are . I hope a network with some brains picks up the playoffs next season . I hate Vs.

Round Two Match Ups

 Everybody knows by now who is playing who and where and when . I am going to give my list of who I think should win out of these series . I did not get all of my wishes out of the first round , but I rarely get everything I want .

 Colorado vs. Detroit 
  While I would love to see the Avs knock out the Dead Things , I just don’t have that much faith in that Colorado team . A few years ago maybe , but not now . Detroit struggled with Trashville far more than I thought they would , so maybe the Avs can take them out . I would love to see that , but I am not getting my hopes up .

 Stars vs. Sharks
  Our Dallas Stars will win if they do their jobs . I said that before and I will say it again , they know how to beat this team and have proven it before . I choose Our Dallas Stars in six games .

 Penguins vs. Rangers 
  Sean Avery and his boys can start booking golf courses after the fifth game is supposed to be played . If the Rangers are lucky , they might take one game from them . The Penguins have this one in the bag , unless they have become over-confident like Anaheim did with Our Dallas Stars in round one . Too bad the Caps were eliminated wrongly . I wanted to see them beat the Pens (not that they could have , I just wanted to see that) .

Flyers vs. Canadiens
 The Flyers did not deserve to advance on a goal off a goalie who was clearly interfered with . Huet had his own player pushed into him by a Flyers’ player and the goal was allowed . Add to that the Flyers had all those suspensions earlier in the season and that makes the Canadiens winners by default . Quick , somebody go and slash the tires on the Flyers plane so they cannot get to their games and have to forfeit . It would save them humiliation ………. On second thought , send the Flyers extra help to speed them on their way . I want them to make it to their humiliation ……uh …. I mean , their , uh , “games” on time .

Birng on round two and let the poor oficiating continue as it has all season !