Monday, April 12, 2004

Dallas uses OT to win first game of the series

Steve Ott put the fourth Dallas goal of the night behind David Aebischer as the Dallas Stars won 4-3 in Overtime, getting their first win in this year’s playoff season. The Stars had come back in the third period to tie the game with five minutes to go, sending the home crowd to its feet as the two teams headed to extra time.

Two minutes into the overtime Ott put away the winner and started an on ice celebration worthy of winning the Stanley Cup. The Stars who in the two previous games found themselves completely dominated, had a different result Monday, out shooting the Avalanche 32-17. Marty Turco only faced three shots in the third and none in Overtime.

Despite the poor offensive showing by the Avalanche they held the lead late into the third period, less than five minutes away from taking a stranglehold on the series at 3-0. They looked as thought they would cruise to a third win with a 3-1 win, when Scott Young scored on the power play late in the second. That goal seemed to give the Stars and their fans life, leading to a third period that saw the Stars continue the attack, going on to win in OT. How Aebischer responds to the two goals will go a long way as to how the Avs handle game four. The game marked his first playoff loss in the Avalanche net, if he’s able to put the loss behind him the Avs should be ok, if he dwells on the way the game ended it could affect the way he approaches game four.

If Dallas want to reinforce their OT win of Monday, a quick start to Wednesday night’s game is required. A quick goal for the Stars in the next game could change the entire complexion of this series.

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