DENVER – In as much as the Stars had not surrendered as many as seven goals in a game since Nov. 10, 1997, they might be excused for their confusion both during and after Sunday’s 7-5, Game 5 loss at home to the Avalanche. “I still can’t believe that was us outthere,” Craig Ludwig said before last night’s Conference Final elimination game.
“I’m serious. I looked down at my jersey at one point and said to myself, ‘Are these the Dallas Stars?'”
They may not have been quite the team that stormed to the Presidents’ Trophy by recording 115 points, or the team that easily won the Jennings Trophy by limiting opponents to 2.02 goals per game, but they were the team that has encountered increasing difficulty dealing with Colorado’s skill and speed.
“They’ve got guys who can skate really well with the puck,” Mike Modano said. “They can get away from our forecheck, they can get up the ice, and that allows their forwards to gain some speed as well.”
Dallas’ defense is extremely deep, three-pair deep, but other than the Sergei Zubov-Darryl Sydor second pair, not especially mobile. The Derian Hatcher-Richard Matvichuk first pair is physically intimidating, but slow.
The Ludwig-Shawn Chambers third pair is canny, but slow. Unfortunately for the Stars, the Zubov-Sydor pair hasn’t played anywhere near the top of its game.
The Avalanche has exploited Dallas’ lack of blue line mobility, forcing the defense to back into the zone. And it hasn’t only been the forwards creating the damage. Sandis Ozolinsh, who started slowly in this series, was dynamic in both of the Avalanche Game 4 and Game 5 victories. If he is not the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, he surely is the most aggressive.
“He’s never quite where you expect him to be,” Detroit associate coach Dave Lewis said during the Avalanche-Red Wing conference semis. “You look for him at the right point, and he’s down low in the left circle; you look for him in the high slot, and he’s back behind the net.”
Despite an enormous amount of offensive talent, Ken Hitchcock wants the Stars to play strict defense-oriented hockey. One wonders whether it’s the most appropriate game plan for the team, but at this point of the season it seems to be too late for the team to change its strategy.
Hitchcock seems to have his team believing it can win only by trying to play a 2-1 game, and maybe after being bridled for so long under his reins, that’s accurate.
“When it gets down to one game and you’re done [if you lose], you just have to turn everything off and do what you’ve done all season to be successful,” said Ludwig, who won the Cup in 1986 with Montreal. “You have to have belief in what you’ve done.”
Sydor, who has had as uneven a series as his partner, Zubov, believes in his team.
“We’re not pouting and we’re not done,” he said. “Our heads are high up. We know we’re a good team. We believe in ourselves.”
The 1993-94 Rangers are the only team this decade to both finish first overall during the regular season and then win the Stanley Cup. The 1990 Oilers won the Cup after finishing fifth overall. The Penguins won the Cup in 1991 and 1992 out of low seeds, then were knocked off in the second round after finishing first overall in 1993.
The Red Wings failed to win after capturing the Presidents’ Trophy in 1995 and 1996 but then won the Cup in 1997 and 1998 after less successful regular seasons.
Now, Dallas is under pressure to advance. Failure to win the Cup will leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths in Texas. In fact, failure to advance may well cost Hitchcock, whose relationship with his players is not exactly serendipitous, his job.
Before last night’s game, however, the coach wasn’t concerned about what might be, but what he perceived should and could be.
“The emotional place we’re at right now is that we don’t want the season to end,” he said. “It’s been such a great season for the organization, the front office, the players, the fans, that you just don’t want to see it end.
“And if we improve our checking and go back to our style, it doesn’t have to end.”