The Meaningful Collateral

Dallas 1 - Detroit 4 (Series 1-0 Det)

The Stars are going to call this one fatigue.  The Red Wings are going to call it execution.  The top seed Red Wings showed no ill effects from an extended break and capitalized on a trio of Dallas power plays to bury the Stars 4-1 in the series opener.  Detroit’s possession style stymied a Dallas team that very much seemed hungover after an epic Game 6 victory against San Jose in the last round.  The Stars looked sloppy and dead-legged.  Not helping was letting the Red Wings get 5 power plays (including a pair of 5 on 3 advantages) and failing to convert on the 4 chances they received.  Turco was not the problem, but he also didn’t do anything to quiet talk of his 0-8-2 record in Joe Lewis Arena.  Detroit’s superior play prevented the Stars from getting ahead in the series early, which has been a key factor in their previous success.  By making Dallas play from behind - both in the actual game and in the overall series - Detroit will be able to dictate the tempo; a huge advantage over a team that has played a much tougher schedule so far.  It’s a great start for the Wings, but for Dallas, I would imagine that the focus from day 1 was getting a split.  If they can head back to Dallas 1-1 (which is no small task) they still have a chance to draw this series out.