Above, the picture of Morrow is great, but enjoy the dismay and despair of the Canucks' faithful. It is priceless.
Well, I am sure happy that the Dallas Stars don’t read Bob’s Blog. I thought they would not play another home game after losing Game 3 and Game 4 like they did. I stopped believing. I started thinking about the big picture and about tomorrow. They still focused on today. And for that, they are rewarded.
Brenden Morrow wins it in overtime. 6:22 in. He scores a big goal and demonstrates his ability by word and deed in the last 48 hours why he is a fine captain for the Dallas Stars. Morrow made us proud when some of us had given up the fight.
The following are the rest of my notes:
• Marty Turco almost could not play better than he has in this series. Roberto Luongo has played just as well if not better – but the only thing keeping Marty Turco from being everyone’s hero is history. If you only rate him on these two weeks, he would be nobody’s goat. Now, he has two playoff wins in 2006-07, and they both were shutouts. That’s right. For him to win, he has to allow exactly 0 goals. His GAA is 1.38 (Luongo is 1.39) and his save % is 94.9 (Luongo 95.3). And yet he is 2-3 in this series. Life is not fair. And playoff Hockey isn’t either.
• So, the Stars have 3 goals in 3 games and the Canucks have 4 goals in 4 games. Both teams have score 9 goals in the series. I guess this has been a pretty tight series.
• Mike Ribeiro is so good. I would do two things if I am the Stars as it relates to him. 1) play him more – and with better line mates. 2) lock him up. If Boucher and Halpern can get long term commitments from the Stars, Ribeiro needs to be kept here, too.
• Modano had the speed and jump last night that we expect out of him. I think if you keep 9, 10, and 26 together on Saturday, good things will happen.
• Sedin, Sedin, and Naslund have combined for 0 goals, 0 assists for 0 points since Game 1. If somehow Vancouver lets this series get away, I would think it will be an uncomfortable summer in the media for those boys.
• Call me crazy, but I thought Eric Lindros was pretty decent last night. Nothing too special, but enough to make you wonder if they should have brought him back in sooner. So, it was his first playoff game in 7 years? Do you know what that means? It means that his last playoff game was in the Eastern Conference Finals when Scott Stevens knocked him silly at the blueline. The next week, the Devils joined the Stars in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. That means that he has not been in the playoffs in a while.
• I don’t know about you, but I really have been impressed with Willie Mitchell this series. He is solid as a rock.
• The overtime jinx is either dead or suspended. Same for the Turco “blink first” theory. But, let’s remember one thing: So far they have just earned a stay of execution. If they turn around and lose in Game 6, the feelings will turn to negative again, and you will have people suggesting that there need to be absolute whole-sale changes.
• Boy, those power plays are great, eh? The Stars actually won the game on the Power Play, but Vancouver sits at 1 for 25 with the man advantage. Ouch.
• Who thought the season would have ended appropriately if that back pass from Loui went all the way back to the Stars empty net. Ralph and Razor were priceless there. But the puck went just off the pipe.
• I know I doubted them, but it is only because I want them to make this city proud. I pull for this team because I care, and I get mad at them because I care. I want this team to make sports fans proud, because if they don’t, they get left in the dust of sports irrelevance in DFW. If they can force a Game 7 on Monday, the table will be set for a proud moment in Stars history. But there is the catch. They have lost 6 straight playoff home games. They have got to get it done. Pretty please.
This team can easily drive someone nuts. The funny thing about this series and this game last night is the score through regulation, 0-0. After the first period, as a Stars fan you are happy, 0-0, 40 minutes to go, you've held the Nuck's at bay. End of two, still 0-0, still gotta be happy with the team, they are getting scoring chances and giving them up, but you still have 20 minutes to go, no time to panic. Then comes the third.. time is running out.. the way these teams are playing, you give up a goal and you lose. It was like it they were playing in OT at the wistle to begin the third. Funny how a 0-0 score changes meaning as the game goes on.
ReplyDeleteI got so caught up in how tightly played this series has been that I forgot just how good Ribeiro is. One of the callers to the playoff post game show last night was right when he said the Canucks have no answer for Ribeiro. Now, if Tippett will follow Dan's advice and put someone with more skill on a line with Ribeiro, the Stars might have something.
ReplyDeleteAnd why is it that Stu Barnes seems to be everywhere and almost no other forward is able to consistently do that in this series? I know the Canucks are a very good defensive team, but still... Barnes has been fantastic.
How would a line of Ribeiro, Morrow and Lindross do, with Zubov and Sydor as defensemen. You would have the quickness of Ribeiro to break down the defensemen and then two big-bodies to do the grunt work in the crease, with Zubov and Sydor there to keep the puck in the zone and pick up the long rebounds. It seems that everytime Ribeiro gets into the zone there is no one there to dish off to.
ReplyDeleteGetting nervous about the amount of "blind passes" that end up on the sticks of the Canuck fowards while our guys are still cycling behind Loungo. Thank goodness Canuck aren't the fleetest of foot.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else questioning the value of Nagy? I cannot remember the last time I witnessed a "skill" player that loses the puck so easily off of a stick. Every pass to him seems like it dribbles off. The Canuck d-fence only has to come within 2 feet before Nagy burps up the puck. I am not feeling this particular trade right now.
Other than that, the Stars defensemen, Turco and the checking lines have been almost godlike in stopping the offense of the Canuck scoring lines. It is a clinic in position and team play.
Hoping the Stars can pull this out - I would hate to see Turco's performance go to waste.
Good strong blog bob.
ReplyDeleteRemember everyone, don't shave, or change your underwear until saturday night after the game, and only if they lose.
I love me some playoff hockey.
And Go Mavs? Yes I think so.
Nellie was classic today. He so thinks he can win this series. I promise you he does. He's just saying what he thinks he should. Norm should've called him on it, but he was too busy giggling.
I really enjoyed this game on NHL.com radio since I live out of market and the cable people apparently haven't heard of Vs.
ReplyDeleteAt least the NHL.com radio thing was free (huge shocker)
GO STARS!