Stars sweep Western Canada

It may have been a cold road trip, but it was a successful one.

The Dallas Stars did the Western Canada swing this week, taking victories from Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary and with the road victory continued to keep their lead over San Jose in the Pacific Divsion.

Stars goaltender marty Turco was the star of the game by far, shutting down the Flames and making some remarkable saves on the way to the 2-1 victory, along the way he only allowed in a Daymond Langkow rebound, turning aside 31 shots on the night for Dallas.

Niklas Hagman and Brendan Morrow tallied for the Stars, who continue to show signs of their more successful seasons past, sending notice to the Western Conference that they may be ready to once again lead a charge for the Stanley Cup.

Calgary suffered their first setback in five games on Saturday, their first loss since a four game winning streak was launched. Over the last week, the Flames have played a more disciplined game, getting scoring from a variety of sources including a recent splurge of goals from Owen Nolan.

Still worrisome for the Flames is the cold streak that captain Jarome Iginla is currently suffering, Saturday night marked the ninth consecutive game that the normally productive Iginla has been held off the scoresheet.

The night however belonged to Turco, who even managed to solicit praise from Flames head coach Mike Keenan who described the Stars goaltender as "part of the difference for them tonight".

As any NHL team knows, goaltending is all important as you head towards the Stanley Cup playoffs, at the moment the Stars are finding that things are going to be quite fine on the goal line.