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Turco, Eriksson help Stars edge Canucks

Feb 14, 2009 - 6:09 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Marty Turco certainly is proving his worth to the surging Dallas Stars.

Making his 25th straight start, Turco turned aside 32 shots and Loui Eriksson recorded a goal and an assist in the second period as the Stars posted a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

Joel Lundqvist also tallied in the middle session for Dallas, which bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday to win for the eighth time in 10 contests.

"Entertaining game. They were pushing hard in the third, and it was exciting right to the end," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We'll continue to talk to Marty and make sure he's feeling good. When he is, he gives us our best chance to win. He settled in and played really well."

Taylor Pyatt netted an early goal and Jason LaBarbera turned aside 28 shots for the Canucks, whose four-game winning streak was halted.

"It was a hard-fought game on both sides, great saves on both sides," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. "Great players had the right chances, but their goaltender made some great saves. Too bad we couldn't get a little more finish. Their goaltender was real good."

In the losing effort against the Coyotes, Turco stopped 28 shots as Dallas fell in regulation for just the second time in 14 home contests (11-2-1). He also set the franchise record for consecutive starts previously held by Cesare Maniago, who started 23 games in a row for the Minnesota North Stars in 1968-69.

"We've talked, we've had great, healthy conversations over the last 20-so games, just because of the position we're in and, in particular, the way I've been feeling," Turco said of his extensive streak. "I think an open, honest dialogue is our credo right now, and it's not going to change game-to-game if (Tippett) sees it differently.

"He's the coach, and that's the way we'll play it. But as for now, it's just preparing to play for a long time, regardless of whether I'm playing the next one or nine of the next 10. I'm going to prepare to play them all and get the body in special shape, for now and for the long run."

The 33-year-old Turco was just as impressive in this one, surrendering fewer than three goals for the seventh time in 10 contests.

"It feels real and comfortable for me," Turco said. "The ability to track the puck, trust myself to be quick enough on ones where you have to move and find them, and where you have to find redirects or tips or track rebounds. Those things certainly feel a little easier to do than earlier in the year, but nothing that I thought I couldn't do.

"I just have a good feeling coming to the rink every day, particularly in practice, to jump on the ice, get warmed up properly, not just take it for granted. It seemed like a process for me to get to this point, instead of just doing a quick fix or something. Once you get the feeling, you want it to stay here, and I don't plan on it going away."

He got off to a rocky start early in the first, when Pyatt scored his seventh goal of the season at 5:28 on a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle.

However, Turco was impenetrable the rest of the way for Dallas, which improved to 16-7-4 at home.

"(Turco has) been unbelievable," Eriksson said. "Today, he was great again."

Eriksson netted his team-leading 26th tally of the season eight minutes into the middle session, tipping in defenseman Matt Niskanen's shot while stationed on the doorstep during a power play to forge a 1-1 tie.

"We came up flat in the second period, took a few penalties and got away from our game plan, and that cost us the game," Pyatt said. "The second period put a lot of pressure on our penalty-killers."

Lundqvist gave the Stars the lead for good 8 1/2 minutes later, when he unleashed a hard wrister from the right circle that beat LaBarbera, who made his first start since January 9. Turco picked up his fourth assist of the season on the play.

"It was nice to finally get one in there, and Lundqvist, he had a (heck) of a shot there," Eriksson said. "It was a nice one."

The 26-year-old Lundqvist had not scored since March 15.

"I'm a forward, I should score goals," Lundqvist said. "I haven't been able to find the net, so it's nice to finally get it. I don't even remember the feeling, but I do now. It was nice to get the first one. That's what hockey's all about."