• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Modano powers Stars past Red Wings

May 15, 2008 - 8:22 AM By John Tranchina PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DALLAS (Ticker) - The Dallas Stars live to fight another day.

Mike Modano snapped a tie 5:35 into the third period as the Stars staved off elimination with a 3-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings in Game Four of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday.

Captain Brenden Morrow and Loui Eriksson also tallied and defenseman Sergei Zubov had two assists for fifth-seeded Dallas, which faces a three-games-to-one deficit in its best-of-seven series.

Henrik Zetterberg scored the lone goal for top-seeded Detroit, which will look to advance to its fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1995 by closing out the series at home in Game Five on Saturday.

"It's going to be a different game," Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood said. "We'll play better at home (and ) we expect to have our best game of the season. We played good at times. They had the puck in our zone way too much. It was an on/off night. We played a poor first and that carried over the whole game."

"This isn't over. No one's told us to stop playing," Stars center Brad Richards said. "This is a fun time of year and we're going to enjoy every minute of it and we got another life tonight."

Osgood finished with 19 saves but fell to 9-1 in the postseason for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Red Wings, who saw their franchise-record nine-game postseason winning streak come to an end.

"We're playing a great team. They're not going to go away," said Zetterberg, who has a league-high nine-game scoring streak. "We're happy we won one of two in Dallas. We just have to stay out of the box. It was tough to get any momentum going."

"We probably played a little more desperate, we know there is no tomorrow," said defenseman Stephane Robidas, who assisted on Eriksson's tally. "It could have been our last game of the season, our backs are against the wall and that's how we have to play - we have to play with desperation."

Dallas coach Dave Tippett credited netminder Marty Turco for his team staving off elimination.

"He came up with a heck of a game for us tonight," Tippett said of Turco, who finished with 33 saves. "We were looking for a better team effort - and that's what we got right from Marty on out."

The Stars dominated the first period, holding a 9-5 edge in shots and generating numerous scoring chances along with three power plays - but just like in Games Two and Three, they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

Dallas' best chance came with 6:15 elapsed as rookie defenseman Nicklas Grossman, who scored a goal in Game Three, rang a wrist shot off the goalpost from the right faceoff circle.

True to form with the rest of the series, the pendulum shifted back to the Red Wings as they outshot Dallas, 10-1, through the first half of the second period and 14-6 overall.

"They were a desperate team out there, we have to match that intensity," Detroit captain and five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom said. "I thought we did that in the second half of the game, but not the first half, where we had some penalties and gave them some momentum."

Pavel Datsyuk apparently opened the scoring with a power-play tally for the Red Wings at 7:33 into the second session, but referee Kelly Sutherland disallowed the goal, deeming that Tomas Holmstrom was in the crease and impeded Turco's ability to stop the puck.

Replays showed that Holmstrom's skates were outside the blue-painted crease and that he did not actually touch Turco.

"The guy's out of the paint," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "That's a repetition call, totally. It's disappointing. These (referees) are doing their very best, just like us. They want to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Kelly's a good referee, he just blew the call. That's life."

"It was a goal, Homer was outside the crease," Zetterberg said. "Everything goes really fast out there and unfortunately, it was a missed call. I don't think it's a rule, but that's that. I don't think the loss came on that call."

The Wings continued to pour on the pressure, but it was the Stars who broke through for the game's first goal with just 22.7 seconds left in the second.

Robidas fired a wrist shot from the right circle which ricocheted off Osgood, then off Eriksson in front and into the crease. Eriksson swatted it in for his fourth goal of the postseason.

"We got it down deep there and got the cycle going, Robi shot it at the net," Eriksson said. "I was standing in front and it hit my body and I think I tipped it in with my stick right before it went in. It was a nice one."

It was the Stars' first lead of the series - although it only lasted 72 seconds as Detroit leveled the contest just 49 seconds into the third period on Zetterberg's 10th goal of the playoffs.

The talented Swede unleashed a scorching wrist shot from the the left faceoff circle which beat Turco inside the far post.

"I thought they handled it unbelievably," Tippett said of surrendering the lead so quickly. "It was talked about by the players on the bench, this was not going to deter us. It was a little bit about, 'Let's just keep doing what we're doing and give ourselves a chance.'"

Dallas countered on a power play at 5:35, on Modano's fifth goal of the postseason. Stationed in the high slot, Modano received a perfect feed from Zubov in the left circle and ripped a one-timer over Osgood's shoulder.

It was Modano's 15th career game-winning goal in the playoffs, tying him with New York Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr for third among active players.

"We were struggling a little bit on the power play," Modano said of the power-play unit which was 1-for-15 in the first three games of the series. "We were able to get it set up finally. Zubov down low on that side is someone that can really thread the needle, find the open guy."

Morrow provided some insurance with his ninth of the playoffs with 5:26 remaining, firing a shot from the high slot past a screened Osgood.