Turco, Stars Blank Canucks To Force Game 7
POSTED: 6:01 pm HST April 21, 2007
Dallas, TX -- (Sports Network) - Marty Turco recorded his second consecutive shutout and third of the playoffs, turning aside all 21 shots he faced, as the Dallas Stars blanked the Vancouver Canucks, 2-0, to force Game 7 in their Western Conference quarterfinal matchup.The third-seeded Canucks were up 3-1 in this best-of-seven series but riding the back of Turco, the sixth-seeded Stars have forced Monday's decisive game in Vancouver. "Our guys really played well defensively tonight," said Turco, who extended his career-long shutout streak to 130:33 minutes. "We understand that Game 7 is going to be a real challenge." Mike Modano and Jeff Halpern each scored for the Stars, who have trailed three-games-to-one 12 times over their franchise history and have never come back to win a series. The Stars also ended a six-game playoff losing streak at home. "It's been awhile since we won at home and it feels great," said Modano. "We're finally having some good looks." Roberto Luongo finished with 28 saves for the Canucks, who went 0-for-3 on the power play and are just 1-for-28 with the man-advantage in the series. "They were the hungrier team tonight and they deserved to win," said Luongo. "That's the bottom line. We start over with a clean slate. It's a one game series and we shouldn't have any problems." Trevor Linden and Kevin Bieksa were whistled for early penalties within 12 seconds of each other and the Stars took advantage of the 5-on-3 power play as Modano rifled a one-timer from the high slot that beat a screened Luongo just 3:05 into the game. After a scoreless second period that saw Vancouver put up just six shots on Turco, Halpern scored just over seven minutes into the final period to hand Dallas a two-goal cushion. Halpern skated into the slot with the puck before unleashing a slap shot that slipped over the left shoulder of Luongo. "I basically shot it as hard and as high as possible and it went in," said Halpern. Looking to get back into the game, penalties hurt Vancouver down the stretch as the Canucks were repeatedly killing off penalties. Game Notes This was the first time Dallas forced a Game 7 in team history...Vancouver went 0-for-3 on the power play while Dallas finished 1-for-6.
Copyright 2007 Courtesy of The Sports Network.






