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Dallas wins as Modano chases history

Mar 16, 2007 - 7:04 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Mike Modano moved closer to becoming the leading American-born goal scorer in NHL history.

Modano had a goal and an assist and Sergei Zubov added two assists in his 1,000th game as the Dallas Stars posted a 4-2 triumph over the Calgary Flames in a matchup of potential playoff teams.

Dallas (42-23-5) won its fourth straight game and moved into fifth place in the Western Conference with 89 points, tying the San Jose Sharks (43-25-3) and the Minnesota Wild (41-24-7).

"We knew they were desperate coming in after a tough game for them and we knew we had to absorb a push at the start," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "They are a hard-working team and we were able to frustrate them by keeping the puck a little more.

"We were able to put some power-play goals in. We did a good job there and in essence, we had three power-play goals and an empty-netter, so that was good to see."

Modano scored the first goal of the game with 9:25 left in the opening period when his slap shot found a hole between the pads of Calgary goaltender Jamie McLennan. It was his fourth goal in his last five games and 501st of his career, one behind Joe Mullen's record.

"I got some room to get a shot off on the power play," Modano said. "We were working it around pretty good. (Darryl Sydor) was able to drag that high guy with him and leave me a lane for the net. I was able to get some good wood on it and get it by him."

"I played with Joe Mullen," Tippett said. "He was an excellent player. He was sneaky good, along the lines of Jere Lehtinen. They have very similar playing styles. I've gotten to know American hockey's two top goal scorers. They're great human beings and great hockey players."

Zubov picked up a secondary assist on Junior Lessard's first-period goal, his first of the season, and another in the second on Niklas Hagman's 16th in the second. Both tallies came with the man-advantage.

"I'm really happy to play in my 1,000th game," Zubov said. "Especially here in Dallas. I'm having fun and we're winning. That's what I'm looking for."

"I remember (Zubov) from the 1992 Olympics before he played his first NHL game," Tippett said. "He still looks like the young player that I knew."

Marty Turco had a solid game in net, recording 30 saves for the Stars, who are 7-0-1 in their last eight home encounters with the Flames.

"I felt good and saw the puck well," Turco said. "We hadn't seen a playoff-contending team in a while, so we came firing from the start. You anticipate a lot of traffic when you play Calgary, and our guys did a great job blocking shots, making my life easier."

Calgary (37-24-10) remains in eighth place in the West, eight points ahead of Colorado (35-29-6). The Flames are also six points behind the Vancouver Canucks (42-23-6) in the Northwest Division race.

After setting up Matthew Lombardi for his 20th goal in the second period, Alex Tanguay netted his 20th with 2:50 remaining for Calgary.

"They capitalized on their power plays, especially early," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "Five-on-five, we were really good tonight. The goalies played well, but Turco, he made some unbelievable saves tonight.

"We felt that we had lots of legitimate scoring chances, we were in the crease, banging it in, and we were physical."