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head coach: Ken Hitchcock

roster: C-Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bob Bassen, C-Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bob Bassen, Brian Skrudland. LW- Dave Reid, Greg Adams, Benoit Hogue, Juha Lind, Patrick Cote. RW- Mike Keane, Mike Kennedy, Pat Verbeek, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jere Lehtinen, Grant Marshall. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei Zubov, Craig Muni. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek.

injuries: Patrick Cote, d (shoulder separation, indefinite).

transactions: Mike Modano, c, taken off injured reserve April 14.

standings:

Western Conference - Central Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
p-Dallas     82  49  22  11   109  242  167  
x-Detroit    82  44  23  15   103  250  196  
x-St Louis   82  45  29   8    98  256  204  
x-Phoenix    82  35  35  12    82  224  227  
Chicago      82  30  39  13    73  192  199  
Toronto      82  30  43   9    69  194  237  

x - Clinched playoff spot
p - Clinched President's Trophy

game results:

4/08 Washington    W 2-1
4/11 at Tampa Bay  W 5-1
4/12 St. Louis     W 4-3
4/15 Detroit       W 3-1
4/16 at Phoenix    L 3-2
4/18 Chicago       W 3-1

team news:

by Jim Panenka, Dallas Correspondent

"Aye, And a Fine Fresh Scent, Too"

Dallas stunk up the joint during the end of March and into the first week of April. Their 2-5-0 record during those seven games qualified as a serious losing funk. A stank one, at that.

Darryl Sydor perhaps said it best when asked for an explanation of the big skid.

"We're not digging down enough, we're just not playing hard. It's just something we've got to nip in the bud here quick or it'll be an early summer," said Sydor.

Joe Nieuwendyk agreed with Sydor by stating, "I think we've become a much better hockey club this year, (but) we're certainly not showing it in the last two weeks. I don't know. I think we've got a lot of areas to address in a short period of time. I think we're capable of getting this back on track."

Dallas pulled out a big old bar of Irish Spring and cleaned that funk right out of the locker room. Whatever the players discussed amongst themselves during those two weeks was enough to convince them to hunker down and begin playing Stars hockey once again.

The Stars finished the regular season in fine fashion, recording a much better 5-1-0 record during their last six games. What made the difference?

Nieuwy Leads the Way

Joe Nieuwendyk finished as the Stars' leading scorer with a fantastic points tally of 39 goals, 30 assists for 69 points. Joe was named the NHL Player of the Week ending April 12 for scoring five goals and three assists for eight points to close out that week. He also has scored a season total of 11 game-winning goals, as well as 13 goals on the power play. The other members of Joe's line stepped up with him.

Once healthy enough to return to the fold, linemate Greg Adams returned to his former scoring ways and racked up a five-game point streak. He had scored four goals, four assists for eight points during those games. All four of the goals during the streak were power-play tallies. His season total for power-play goals was seven. Gus finished up the season with 14 goals, 18 assists for 32 points.

Pat Verbeek was the spark plug that helped the other two step up their game. Beeker finished off his season with a much-better total of 31 goals, 26 assists for 57 points. That's nearly double last season's goal total of 17. Up until the final game against Chicago, Verbeek had goals in each of his four previous games, including a two-goal night against Detroit. One of those two goals was the game-winner. It was Beeker's third consecutive multi-point game.

Overall, Nieuwendyk's line accounted for much of the team's offense during the final push towards the playoffs. The team will count on this line to continue their success into the postseason.

Eagle Is Ready For The Show

Ed Belfour went through a rigorous rehab on his sore back, and returned in true championship form. Prior to the final game of the season, Eddie had a six-goal winning streak, during which he had a 1.49 GAA and a .950 save percentage. He extended that streak to seven games, winning the finale as well, allowing only a single goal.

During the 3-1 win over Detroit on April 15, Belfour stopped an incredible 44 of 45 shots to secure the win for his team during an intense playoff-atmosphere game. Many consider that game to be one of the best they had seen in recent memory, and the vision of the Eagle's stunning performance won't soon leave this reporter's mind. Eddie proved he's ready to give the Stars a fighting chance to secure the Cup.

Modano Signs On For The Long Haul

In what was perhaps one of the finest displays of sportsmanship during this crazy year of free-agent mania, Mike Modano opted to dance with who brought him by signing a long-term deal with Dallas. Modano's six-year, 40+ million-dollar contract virtually assured him the status of franchise player, locking him with Dallas and avoiding the free-agent roulette wheel.

Mighty Mo could have definitely held out, and gotten, a fair amount more that the $7.5 million-or-so yearly average during the summer. But, he has consistently expressed his intent to stay with the Stars, the franchise that drafted him high and invested all it had at developing him into the superstar he has become.

"How can you say that this isn't enough money?" Modano was quoted as saying when asked why he didn't bail on his team for more money.

It's just a shame Mark Messier couldn't have lived up to that code of ethics. Look what happened to the miserable Rangers, for example.

When will players see that it's the game that's most important, not the quick buck? To hell with you, Sergei Fedorov.

Modano made good on his promise, once again making the choice that was the most beneficial, and least disruptive to the team. During the preseason, Modano held out until the final exhibition game, settling for a reasonable $3.5 mil per just to get the season underway on the right foot. His dedication to the team, and his pure desire to win a Stanley Cup led to his unselfish act, which guaranteed the team could finish the season hitting all cylinders, without any distractions.

The plan worked, Modano returned victorious to the lineup for the final game of the season. Mo tallied two assists, helping both Jamie Langenbrunner and Jere Lehtinen put one home behind Terreri. He was a bit off on timing, and blew a breakaway chance against Chicago goaltender Terreri, but it was Modano's mere presence that gave the Stars a much-needed boost in confidence heading into the playoffs.

Here Comes the Pres!

With the final victory on 4/15 against the Blackhawks, Dallas finished the year with a 49-22-11 record for 109 points, a new franchise record. The team also secured the President's Trophy for the best record in the league, the Western Conference championship, the Central Division crown, and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Dallas also finished with the best power-play unit in the league. The Stars scored on 77 of 385 chances, and they were the only team to have success on 20 percent or better of their power plays.

All three goals in the final game of the year came off the power play. The fact that Sergei Zubov assisted on all three goals should also tell you something about his importance as captain of the power-play squad.

The home-ice fans have become amongst the finest in the league, giving their team a raucous standing ovation during the final 45-or-so seconds of the 3-1 win over Chicago, which secured the President's Trophy. They cheered wildly as captain Derian Hatcher accepted the trophy on behalf of his club.

Even former franchise owner Norm Green is getting on the bandwagon. Green faxed a congratulatory message to current owner Tom Hicks stating, among other things:

"Today we won the Presidents' Trophy and we enter the playoffs with a powerful momentum. The Dallas Stars are a confident and capable team of great young men that have already shown they know how to win.

"When you bought the Stars from me in 1996, you made a promise to build on what was started in 1993, and bring Dallas a world championship in professional hockey. Every owner in every sport makes this promise, and they all mean it. But your promise was different. You began the process in the right way, in your style, as a winner.

"Money alone never accomplished this goal. ... It takes leadership and a tenacious owner like Tom Hicks.

"I have always been a fan of hockey first and an owner second, and now as a Dallasite, I am thrilled to see your success. Hockey is not only alive and well in Dallas, but it is about to win a world championship."

All of these reasons and more add up to the unmistakable fact that the Stars have never been in a better position to make a run for the Cup.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat!

Dallas drew a good opponent in the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks may have sunk all the Stars' buoys during the regular season a year ago, sweeping the team with a goaltending clinic put on by Kelly Hrudey. This season, the teams split their four games. But, what is troubling in that the Sharks are undefeated (4-0) in Reunion Arena since their last loss here in Dallas on Dec. 17, 1995.

"(Aye..) They've been a thorn in this franchise's side for two years, ever since I've been here," coach Ken Hitchcock said, sounding much like the wily Great White Shark-hunting Quint of the movie Jaws. (Although he did skip the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard trick)

Who's gonna start for San Jose - Hrudey or Vernon? It doesn't matter, each one is perfectly capable of stoning the Stars.

What will matter the most, what will determine if the Stars are really for real or still a pretender, is what group of players will show up for the contest. Will it be the hard working, selfless, determined, hungry, smart Stars?

Or will it be the team that disappears into the crowd, comes into the contest overconfident and under-appreciative of the desperation of their opponent, unwilling to work hard enough or to pay the price to win?

Dallas has a single chance to erase the demons of last year that came at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers (good luck, Colorado!). If the Stars fail to live into the second round this time, they will always be put into the "pretender" category and will be marked as one of the worst-choking teams around.

The regular season means nothing, even as good as it was for Dallas this time around. The playoffs are the only thing that matters. That is the only reason Bob Gainey stayed with Dallas as GM, and quietly and confidently assembled perhaps one of the finest groups of hockey players in modern history.

Will that group of players fulfill their destiny, and secure Lord Stanley's Cup for their veteran GM, one of the best players ever to strap on a pair of Tacks? Only each individual player can answer that question for themselves. Their chance for an answer begins on Wednesday, April 22, 1998 in Reunion Arena.

Wow, that's like poetic, or sumpin'.

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