An Improbable Win for Dallas

The Dallas Stars don't want to go away. Despite already being behind the 8-ball in this series, going down 3-0, there was a school of thought that the team would just roll over in Game 4 in Dallas. That didn't happen. Marty Turco's (Box 12) winless streak at Joe Louis Arena was thought to be in little danger of being broken. It was. Now, the Stars have all sorts of momentum going home for Game 6 and now the Red Wings needs to start playing with some desperation, if they are to escape from this series alive.

It was another low-scoring affair in Detroit, seeing the Stars win 2-1, in goals that were scored in the first half of the game. Joel Lundqvist (non-pool) scored the eventual winner under seven minutes into the second period and thus stole the bonus point away from the hockey pool. It was only Lundqvist's second goal of the playoffs, but it proved to be key. Lundqvist has been a good player for the Stars in these playoffs, also registering five assists this Spring for a respectable 7 points and a bonus. He was in consideration for the pool, but fell short on his regular season numbers.

With only three goals scored in the game, there wasn't going to be many points handed out for pool purposes. On one of those goals, Turco added an assist and that gave him three points thanks to the win. His first career win in Joe Louis Arena gave him a West-leading 24 points in these playoffs, which is only 2 points off the pace for the top spot in the playoffs, behind Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury (Box 24). Turco's expert puck-handling has given him two assists in these playoffs as well, which count as points in the pool. Since Chris Osgood (non-pool) was not included on the sheet, Turco would now be the top choice for a Western Conference goalie on the sheet.

Dallas continues to play somewhat shorthanded as both Jere Lehtinen (Box 3) and Phillipe Boucher (Box 9) remain out of the line-up due to injuries. The Stars have been playing with key players out with injuries throughout the playoffs. So, if anything that is the biggest surprise of the playoffs, arguably. If they can force a Game 7 on Monday night, the Cinderella story would start to become legendary.