The Stars did waste any time letting the Kings know they were in town for business not pleasure. Miettinen scored just 19 seconds after the game started. Coach Tippet changed up the lines and the biggest one was putting Morrow, Modano, and Lindros together. Each time they were on the ice they dominated the puck. They had 2goals, one from Morrow and one from Modano, and five assist. Modano’s goal came after a huge blast from Lindros that rebounded out to the middle of the slot where Mo was waiting and pushed it past Cloutier.
The team as a whole looked really good. Each man took care of their business and finished off hits and were just tenacious scrapping for the pucks in the corners. It was clear that the Kings were not ready for the new physical play the Stars are showing now. When the Stars made Morrow the team captain it was because of how he plays the game. He is fearless and will not give up on any play until the whistle has blown. He is never intimidated and backs down from no one. Coach Tippet said he wanted the rest of the team to follow Morrows example and become a tough more respected team. When I was watching the game and saw 5’10” 180lb Stephane Robidas stand up to 6’4” 265lb Raitis Ivanans I knew right then this was a much better team than it had been the past few years. You can skate as fast and as fancy as you want but it’s not enough to win games. Hockey is still a rough sport if your not checking players coming into your zone then they are going to blow right by and be on top of your goalie before he can even know what is happening. Now if you catch him coming down and time out a good hit that rattles his chiclets loose and makes him have to straighten his bucket up then the next time he comes down that’s all he is going to be thinking about.
The toughness extends all the way to the net too. Turco is known for his amazing saves and great puck handling skills out of the net. He has also shown in past that he is a tough player that can take a hit. That was proven last night when he took a slap shot in the side of his mask. It was immediately apparent that he was stunned by the blast but continued on with the play making three more saves before covering up the puck to stop play. After a quick visit from trainer Dave Surprenant and a new mask he was ready to go again. He posted 32 saves on 33 shots. The one goal came off an awkward bounce off the boards. When Turco went to cut off the dump in the puck redirected and came across the bottom of the left circle and was shot in by Ivanans.
The Stars will play the Kings again Saturday. It unusual for teams to play back to back games especially in the same building. This is going to be one hell of a game too. The Kings were pretty well embarrassed and will be looking for redemption. What they will probably find is an ass whoopin.
