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Modano propels Stars past Rangers

Oct 21, 2008 - 4:44 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Sean Avery led the Dallas Stars in the passion and energy department. After his teammates followed suit, they were on their way to being treated to dinner by their noted pest.

Mike Modano snapped a tie just 8:03 into the third period as the Stars rallied for a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday in Avery's return to Madison Square Garden.

Captain Brenden Morrow added a power-play tally and Marty Turco finished with 28 saves for Dallas, which snapped a two-game losing streak and also allowed less than three goals for the first time this season.

"It was a tight game and we needed to be responsible in all areas of the game," Modano said. "We knew we needed some saves and we needed some opportunities to get some goals and we got them."

"It was a good win by our team," said Stars coach Dave Tippett, who had seen his team allow a league-worst 23 goals before Monday. "That's all there is to say. It was a good game with a lot of pace. We beat a pretty good team over there, so we'll take that win."

Markus Naslund scored 58 seconds into the contest and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves for New York, which has posted a 1-2-1 record following a 5-0-0 start. The Rangers played for the seventh time in 11 games and have scored just six goals in their last four contests.

"I thought it was going to be a very tight game," New York coach Tom Renney said. "I thought it was going to be close. I thought we were going to win it. They are a fundamentally sound team. It was going to be a mistake that won the hockey game."

"It was a tight game," Lundqvist added. "They are a good team, but at the same time we need to put pressure on them. They played pretty solid."

With the game tied at 1-1, B.J. Crombeen was able to gain possession of the puck behind the net. Rangers' defenseman Dan Girardi was unable to clear and it went straight to Modano, who scored on a wrist shot from the outer edge of the left faceoff circle.

Modano scored his 531st career goal and it came on a night when Avery had his much-hyped to New York.

Avery did not stick around his locker to discuss it, only saying to the crowd of reporters: "I love you guys, but I have to take my teammates out to dinner."

He did however conduct an interview on MSG network's postgame show with Stan Fischler.

"We played well," he said. "We played a real good road game. That's all I can ask."

Considered to be among the most hated players in the league, Avery played 1 1/2 seasons with the Rangers. He recorded 23 goals and 30 assists following his acquisition from Los Angeles on February 5 2007.

In his time with the Rangers, Avery also went out of his way to be a nuisance to opposing players. His most notable incident was his obstruction dance in front of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur during last spring's Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The Rangers won that series in five games and it prompted the NHL to make a rule change. Avery and New York saw their season end in the conference semifinals for the second year in a row.

During the offseason, they parted ways as New York drastically revamped its roster.

Without Avery, the Rangers tied a franchise mark with five straight wins to open the season and have the most points in the NHL. Avery's new team gave him a four-year, $15.5 million deal and then struggled early before turning in their finest defensive showing of the young season.

"Tonight was certainly his best game from an emotional and passion perspective," Turco said. "If he's playing the right way and playing hard, that's the guy we want. He led in the department tonight of passion and emotion - just like we expected."

Avery did not score and did not take any costly penalties but did try to distract Brandon Dubinsky during warmups. He tried trying to do the same on the first shift of the night but it also resulted in defenseman Loui Eriksson taking a tripping penalty just 25 seconds into the contest.

Less than a minute later, the Rangers had the lead when Naslund tapped in the rebound of defenseman Michal Rozsvial's slap shot that missed the net. It was the second goal of the season for Naslund, who got by defenseman Mark Fistric to the doorstep and tucked the rebound into the vacated side of the net.

That was the lone negative of the night and Dallas eventually tied it on an ugly goal in the second period.

"I think this was a big game for him," Morrow said. "He let it be known for him. His emotions were there and he cared."

Dallas tied it when Morrow broke away from Girardi and parked himself in the front of the net. After getting the rebound of rookie Fabian Brunnstrom's wrist shot, Morrow fell down but was still able to put the puck past Lundvist at 5:28 of the second.

"It's just been a frustrating start personally and for the team," Morrow said. "I kind of felt like if something nasty and ugly went for us, that was kind of the break we needed and we took advantage in the third."

After giving up a goal on the first shot, Turco played well and turned in his best save when he stopped Dubinsky on a breakaway early in the third and did not face any significant scoring chances the rest of the way.

"Our third period was our best," Turco said. "That's reassuring. We felt better as the game went on. They scored first and quick and everything just pointed to this team going in the right direction. Obviously the win is the most important thing but the way it was done was a close second.