Friday, March 13, 2009

Dallas Stars 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2

By Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

DALLAS — American Airlines Center became a friendly building for the Dallas Stars again. The Stars beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Thursday night, snapping a six-game home losing streak and picking up two crucial points in the very tight Western Conference playoff race.

"We've struggled at home lately, so it's nice to get back on track here. These are a big two points," said Stars center Mike Modano.

When the dust had settled on the night's action the Stars had moved back into the playoff picture, holding down the eighth spot in the West.

"Those were desperate points and we needed them," said Stars coach Dave Tippett.

The Stars scored three goals in an 8:50 span of the second period to wipe out a 1-0 Carolina lead, and then held off a strong push from the Hurricanes in the third period.

The Stars got a 29-save performance from goalie Marty Turco and goals from Mike Ribeiro and the two players the team picked up at the trade deadline - Steve Begin and Brendan Morrison - in winning for just the third time in their last eleven games (3-7-1).

"When new guys like that help the cause it endears them in the locker room," said Tippett. "This is going to be a tough month and the more guys we can get endeared the better, because we're going to need to stick together."

The Stars had some good pressure early in the game and generated some good chances on two early power play opportunities, but the Hurricanes scored shorthanded on the second Dallas power play to take a 1-0 lead. Rod Brind'Amour finished off an Eric Staal pass on a two-on-one rush 7:23 into the game.

The Stars drew even 1:01 into the second period when Ribeiro tried to make a pass between his leg and had the puck go off Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason's skate and past Hurricanes' goalie Cam Ward.

"I'm a big believer that you work for your breaks. Tonight we worked for our breaks," said Tippett. "Sometimes you get rewarded for your work and (Ribeiro's goal) was one that we got rewarded for."

The Stars took the lead a little more than five minutes later when Chris Conner put the puck on net from the left wing and Begin kept banging away at the puck from the top of the crease until he finally he got it past Ward at the 6:25 mark. It was Begin's first goal since joining the Stars.

"It feels very good to get it out of the way," Begin said. "Now I can think about something else."

Less than three minutes later the Stars made it a 3-1 game. Just moments after hitting a post, Morrison went to the front of the net and deflected a Modano shot into the net at the 9:51 mark of the period.

"I was brought in here to provide offense, and when you don't get on the board right away, it's frustrating," Morrison said. "Now it's a matter of establishing some consistency."

Carolina made a strong push in the third. They put 15 shots on net, and had two pucks bang off posts.

Ray Whitney scored a power play goal with 6:15 remaining to make it a 3-2 game, but the Hurricanes couldn't get the equalizer.

The loss was just the fourth in the last 12 games (8-3-1) for the Hurricanes, who dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"We looked like a team that was playing our fifth (game) in seven (nights) and got in at three in the morning," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "We had trouble moving the puck out of our own end."

Notes: The Stars were without seven players due to injury: Mark Parrish (head) joined Jere Lehtinen (upper body) and Fabian Brunnstrom (upper body) on the list of players who are day-to-day. Also out for the Stars were Brad Richards (wrist), Toby Petersen (foot), Brenden Morrow (knee) and Sergei Zubov (hip).

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