In the Corners at the Stanley Cup
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
| DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS |
Quote of the Day
"Not a whole hell of a lot. They can't lace the skates up."
-- Dallas forward Mike Modano on what the fans can do to help the Stars win Game 6.
|
Modano
|
Stars storyline of the day
After a good Saturday afternoon nap, go out and play exactly the way they did from period two on in Thursday's Game 5 win. Somehow, the Stars were able to slow down the pace of the game, and that needs to continue. Dallas is a rejuvenated team, and with the fans going nuts Saturday night, look for the Stars to start fast in Game 6.
Devils storyline of the day
Don't let all the "series swing" hype get to them. The Devils need to stem the tide, and the best way to do that is to silence the fans in Dallas. Only a first-period lead will do that, especially because the Devils still have one mental edge in the series: They haven't lost in Dallas. Even fans of the titleholders have insecurites, and losing at home to New Jersey is one of them. The Devils must match the Stars' early intensity. And it won't be easy. One mistake by Martin Brodeur could be the whole game.
Injury report
Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock mentioned on Friday that he'll infuse a few new forwards into the Game 6 lineup. That may mean Jamie Langenbrunner and his bum knee are healthy enough to play.
Final word from Dallas
It's a cloudy and rainy day. The kind that makes people drowsy. If either New Jersey or Dallas is caught napping, even for an instant, that team will lose.
|
With every faceoff, there's an element of chance. How will the puck bounce? Which player will time the drop better?
If there's so much variability in faceoffs, how can Dallas' 82-48 domination in Game 5 be explained?
"I don't know right now," coach Ken Hitchcock admitted. "I'd like to take a look at it (on tape) because we know what side of the ice and which people we win most of the time on. But we won a lot on the other side of the ice. That is not common for us."
Faceoffs are a lot like shots on goal. With shots, a team can have a lot of them, but they may be dump-ins or on the periphery. A lot of times, faceoffs aren't so important, like in the neutral zone.
But in the offense and defensive zones, especially late in a period or game, they can be the difference between a scoring chance and a clearing pass.
With talented centermen like Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mike Modano, the Stars expected to have an advantage but likely not by so much.
"A lot of the time faceoffs are more mental than technique," Devils head
coach Larry Robinson said. "If you go in there with negative thoughts about
what you're doing, you don't bear down and you don't concentrate. That's
something we've got to do a better job of doing."
Home pride coming through
The Dallas Stars are motivated by many things heading into Game 6. There is one thing the players absolutely don't want to see: The Devils parading the Cup around their home ice.
"That would be a horrible feeling," defenseman Derian Hatcher admitted.
The Stars won the Cup in Buffalo last season, so they know what it's like to spoil a party in someone else's city. But despite that fear, it doesn't affect their attitude going into Saturday's game.
"We are confident we can win on home ice," Hatcher added.
"Reunion Arena is going to be a great place (Saturday night)," Modano added.
Frozen ponderings
Hitchcock made an interesting point about the statistic of official hits. The Devils out-hit Dallas in Game 5, but Hitchcock said it was actually a good stat because it meant his team had the puck more, necessitating New Jersey to check his players more. ... The Devils blocked 27 shots in Game 5, 12 more than Dallas. ... Don't forget that Dallas still has to beat New Jersey three straight games to win this thing. But truth be told, it was just three weeks ago that the Devils dropped three in a row to the Flyers in the East finals. ... Randy McKay played less than 10 minutes in the triple-overtime Game 5. Is he hurt or ineffective? |
