Stars get new confidence for Game 6
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
DALLAS -- Like a life-long nearsighted person feels the day after laser surgery and he or she can see the alarm clock in the morning with perfect clarity, the Dallas Stars see clearly now -- perhaps for the first time in the Stanley Cup finals.
Everything is different after winning Game 5 in triple overtime and bringing the best-of-7 series back to Dallas for Game 6.
|  | | Derian Hatcher and the Stars feel a lot more in control heading into Game 6. |
They haven't scored more than a goal in a game since scoring twice in Game 2. But heck, all that mattered was the Stars got one more than New Jersey on Thursday night.
The Stars had to drive on the team bus for upwards of 45 minutes just to find a hotel in the wee hours of the morning after the Game 5 win. Who cares. They won.
Their plane was delayed in landing in Dallas because of inclement weather -- they were actually lucky not to get re-routed to another city. No worries. They were home, with fans greeting them with cheers.
"I didn't know what was going on," quipped an exhausted Derian Hatcher about the odyssey of the last two days.
But none of it matters because, despite the deep circles under the eyes of the players, they feel more alive than they have in a while.
"We all felt that if we got one, we'd be going back Monday (for Game 7)," Mike Modano said. "We plan on playing our best game (Saturday)."
Joe Nieuwendyk took it a step further: "Mentally, we may have an edge. I certainly think we do. They had the party ready. All set to go."
Just a few days before, when Hatcher said he still thought Dallas was the better team, it sounded hollow and unconvincing. But on Friday, despite the fatigue and similar tone of voice, the confidence was legitimate.
"I know one thing: That we have got a hockey team that can hardly wait to come to the rink right now," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "And that wasn't the case two days ago."
Although Hitchcock senses the change in his locker room, he also knows Game 5 could have gone either way and that the difference between packing up for the summer and packing a lunch for Game 6 was a mere deflection.
"If we leave this thing up for grabs again, then you know, just on odds alone, it could go in their favor," Hitchcock said. "I think if we are going to expect to win, we are going to have to be the better team in more areas than we are right now. In other words, we have got to play better than we did (in Game 5).
"We played well. But they played well too. ... We have got some control back ... But not near enough to say, look, 'we deserve to win this game because we outplayed them.' We are not there yet."
But they're a heck of a lot closer -- close enough to have people thinking this thing is going seven games.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com. |
