Jennifer Floyd Engel

Posted on Mon, May. 05, 2008

Jennifer Floyd Engel: Turco slams door on Sharks

By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
jenfloyd@star-telegram.com

DALLAS -- "I will shut the door."

And with those five words, Stars goalie Marty Turco led his team into overtime Sunday where he immediately and consistently delivered on that promise.

He did so again in Overtime 2.

And in Overtime 3.

And yet again in Overtime 4.

And when all was said and done in Game 6, Marty had stopped a personal-best 61 shots, a mind-numbing 31 in overtime, catapulted Dallas to a 2-1 series-clinching victory against San Jose and earned them an invite to the West Finals starting Thursday in Detroit.

A pretty good day, all in all, for Marty.

He had been dogged – and this finally become past tense Sunday – by questions about whether he had a Stanley Cup in him. He always has been a good goalie, even bordering on great. What he proved in a marathon Game 6 was he’s capable of carrying a team beyond Round 2.

“Our goaltender was pretty unbelievable for us,” Stars captain Brenden Morrow said, eschewing typical understatement. “He probably stole (the game) for us. He kept saying he was going to shut the door and we just had to get one in.”

Mini-Mo delivered that goal for him.

In what had become a series staple, he had parked himself in the crease. He has been doing this all playoffs really, taking any and all punishment to best position himself to score. And he did just that, on a power play, at 9:03 of the first overtime, to ensure his best friend’s gem was not wasted.

Because Marty has played into the night before only to walk away empty handed, to walk away with questions, to walk away shaking his head and wondering “How in the ... ?”

Marty and his Sharks counterpart, Evgeni Nabokov, spent a better portion of Sunday playing a very compelling game of “Oh yeah, watch this”.

Nabokov glove hand.

Marty kick save.

Nabokov stick save.

Marty sprawling save.

Back and forth, it was like the old McDonald’s commercial where Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played H-O-R-S-E. Only every single save had a whole lot of huge, rather than just selling a few Big Macs, riding on whether or not it was made.

Because what the Stars were staring down with a loss was the ugly aftermath of frittering away a 3-0 series lead and a Game 7 back in San Jose.

Of course, Sharks players faced win or begin summer vacation.

Overtime hockey is a nerve-wracking proposition anyway. You are always a bounce, or a stumble or just really bad luck away from skating off the ice a loser. And this is why good scoring chances absolutely, positively must be capitalized on.

Squander too many, like Dallas did early, and they had chance after good chance in that first overtime, and ugly tends to happen.

“Usually when those don’t go in, you are thinking something bad is going to happen at the other end,” Stars forward Mike Modano said. “It’s there in the back of your mind.”

It was here that Marty said: “Screw that, not tonight.”

He hesitated only for a second when asked to name his best save from Sunday.

“Marleau,” he said.

Sharks captain Patrick Marleau had slipped past defensemen with about six minutes remaining in the first overtime and had a clean look at Game 7 until Marty came flying across the crease, his pads stacked.

“I think it was a flying Grant Fuhr pad save,” Marty said, noting he felt inspired to match what Nabokov was doing at the other end. “It extends right from regulation to overtime. You watch the replay and go ‘alright, my turn’. ”

Because Nabokov was bringing his nasty best into overtime, too.

With one minute and 12 seconds remaining in overtime, the Stars best and leading scorer this playoffs was handed the game-winning, series-clinching goal by Sharks defenseman Brian Campbell.

An ugly turnover.

On his stick.

All by himself.

Mike Ribeiro skated toward Nabokov and the assembled AAC masses rose in anticipation of one of his patented moves, of a goal, of a clinching victory in Game 6 and a date with Detroit.

He managed only a slow dribbler that Nabokov turned away.

Twenty eight seconds later, Ribeiro nailed a crossbar.

Add this to Nabokov’s brilliant save on Brad Richards’ shot 91 seconds into overtime and it was starting to feel very much like we may have been playing into next Tuesday.

All of this almost has a chance to bury a team. Marty refused to let this happen and this is what Morrow meant when he said he had stolen Game 6 for them.

“Marty’s sick,” Ribeiro said. “Both goalies, but Marty’s been outstanding. Big saves, huge saves. He plays the puck well. He’s been huge for us. Guys like Morrow and Turks has been unbelievable for us.”

So many guys were unbelievable on Sunday.

Ribeiro played 52 minutes and 43 seconds, a best by forwards, including assisting on Morrow’s goal in OT.

Robidas has smarts enough to pass rather than shoot on said goal. Matty Norstrom, all 457 years of him, looked 21. And remember that Sergei Zubov had sports hernia surgery exactly four weeks ago.

Antti Miettinen actually scored a goal. No seriously, he did. I was there. All of those toddler defensemen became teenagers in this series. And on and on and on.

As had been the case all series, though, really all playoffs, this game came down to Marty and mini-Mo.

“That was as fitting as anything I have ever seen in sports, that Brenden Morrow got the winning goal,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “I’ve been around the game a long time, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone have a series like that. That’s him just taking his team on his back and carrying them. And Turco was excellent also.”

They are best friends, Morrow and Marty.

And when criticism started piling up along with questions about Marty’s worthiness, Morrow somewhat famously remarked: “I still believe he’s going to be the guy who wins me a Cup.”

He had his faith rewarded Sunday.

Marty stared down the likely Vezina winner and watched him blink first, just like he had Anaheim, a personal nemesis from 2003. He now has to face down another personal monkey, Detroit, a town where he has had even less success than he had had in overtime.

“How can you not believe in that guy right now?” Robidas asked.

Good question.

You can’t not believe in him.

And if this Stars team is to have a chance against the Red Wings, he is going to have to shut the door again.