ANAHEIM, Calif. – Thanks to a little advance planning, it will be a “Dallas Stars Blackout” Tuesday night when this playoff series resumes in the Lone Star State. Fans have been asked to wear their black team jerseys, but to ensure it’s dark inside American Airlines Arena, 15,000 black T-shirts will be handed out at the door.
What a coincidence. Now the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks are going from one blackout to another.
Maybe Anaheim is trying to impersonate the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. You know, spot the field by losing the first two games at home, and then roll through to another Cup.
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Brenden Morrow #10 and Jere Lehtinen #26 of the Dallas Stars raise their arms after Lehtinen scored in the second period against J.S. Giguere #35 of the Anaheim Ducks during game two of the 2008 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals at Honda Center on April 12, 2008 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) |
Something suggests that’s not the strategy. Just like allowing six power-play goals in two games wasn’t on the to-do list. Or continuing to take ill-timed penalties wasn’t the goal either.
Exactly what is going on here? How can the Dallas Stars, a team that’s faced so much criticism for losing in the first round the past three years, be in a position to not have to return to Southern California? Weren’t they supposed to be tied 1-1, or down 2-0 at this point and lamenting the loss of defenseman Sergei Zubov from their lineup?
“I think we’ve learned a lot from the past and it came in handy (Saturday) and within this series,” Stars center Mike Modano said. “We’ve needed to have patience with these young guys for a couple of years and it’s paying off right now.”
Two games does not a series make, but Dallas is pulling the biggest surprise of this early playoff season by far. It’s not a fluke, it’s not bad bounces. It’s not luck. The right team, the better team, the team that’s worked hard and the team that’s played smarter has won each of the first two games, including Saturday night’s 5-2 victory in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal.
“They deserve to be up 2-0,” Anaheim defenseman Sean O’Donnell said.
“This will be a big challenge for us,” Ducks forward Teemu Selanne added. “We’re just going to stick together and stay positive and do things better.”
If the Stars do go on to polish off the Ducks, whether it takes as few as four games or as many as seven, they may look back at the third period of Game 2 as the turning point.
After taking most of the first 40 minutes to rally from a 2-0 deficit to tie the seemingly must-win home game, Anaheim had its chance with two power plays during the first five minutes on the fresh ice of the third period. The fan support was there, the momentum was there, the opportunity was there – yet the Ducks didn’t seize the moment.
Instead, 25 seconds after the second Dallas kill, the Stars earned a power play when Anaheim rookie Bobby Ryan hooked Dallas forward Joel Lundqvist, and the visitors capitalized 41 seconds later when Modano scored. Inside of a minute later, Brad Richards capped a breakaway goal when Anaheim’s Mathieu Schneider was guilty of an ill-advised pinch and it was game, set, match.
“We’re not making saves, we’re not playing well defensively and we’re not scoring enough goals,” Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said.
Understandably, the reaction was much different in the other locker room.
“We really struggled with our third periods late in the season, but we put two good ones together here in this series,” Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. “We wanted to be greedy tonight and take two. We were fortunate to do that, but we don’t want to look too far forward.”
Ah, yes, the next game. Tuesday will determine if this is a short or long series. Not that the Ducks are going to quit, but put any team in a 3-0 chokehold and your chances are pretty darn good.
“No one here is quitting, we know what needs to be done,” Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger said. “We can’t worry about tonight. We have to make sure we’re digging in and coming hard on Tuesday.”
“It’s not going to be easy, for sure,” Giguere added. “We found a way to lose two games at home. The key is not to look at what we have to do to win the series, the key is winning Tuesday. And after that we’ll see.”
For what it’s worth, the Stars are 1-6 during their last seven playoff games on home ice. It’s just a stat, compiled over two seasons that featured different opponents, and a different Stars’ roster. It certainly doesn’t represent a window to the future. All it does, really, is give people something to talk about until the puck is dropped again.
What is significant is the fact the Ducks haven’t played anywhere close to good hockey in two games, and the Stars are more than willing to take what they want.
“Two wins is good, but it’s a long grueling road to where we want to get,” Stars goalie Marty Turco said.
“Stanley Cup champs and they’ve been a heck of a team late in the season,” Morrow added. “We played to our strengths and we played with an edge. I think we’ve played our game plan to a T now.”
Ross McKeon is the NHL editor for Yahoo! Sports. | 
