DALLAS — Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars are going back to Vancouver.
From a 3-1 deficit, the Stars have won in overtime and now at home — both difficult postseason tasks for them and their goalie in the past — to force a deciding Game 7 in their first-round Western Conference series against the Canucks.
Mike Modano finally scored, his goal coming on early 5-on-3 power play in the kind of situation Dallas had faltered earlier in this series, and Turco had 21 saves in his third shutout of the series in the Stars' 2-0 victory Saturday night.
"We had to play with poise, stay calm and do good things with the puck. We were able to get off to a good start and went from there," Modano said.
"We'll find out if momentum matters," said Turco, who didn't have a playoff shutout before this series. "We've frustrated them a little bit. Game 7 will be the biggest challenge."
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For the first time in their history, the Stars have come back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a Game 7. It will be Monday night at 6.
Vancouver, which has rallied from 3-1 deficits three times to win series, is also one of the 20 NHL teams that has blown that big of a lead. The Canucks did that four years ago against Minnesota.
"They were the hungrier team tonight and they deserved to win," Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo said. "That's the bottom line. But it's a clean slate now. It's a one-game series."
Modano's goal 3:05 into the game was the first in the series by any of the Stars' top five goal-scorers in the regular season. Jeff Halpern added an unassisted goal with 12:38 left after Vancouver turned the puck over in its zone.
Modano's goal was a huge lift for the Stars, who had failed to score on other 5-on-3 chances in two losses this series.
"Marty was big-time for us, and the goal by Mo was huge," Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. "Capitalizing on the 5-on-3 was big."
With Luongo screened by Jere Lehtinen at the net, Modano — whose 507 goals in the regular season are the most for a U.S.-born player — took a pass from Sergei Zubov and shot from the slot between the circles. The puck dinged the right post and went into the net.
Only seconds earlier after Dallas had the two-man advantage, Luongo denied Modano on a shot that almost went in. The puck was between the goal line and the goalie, who was on his backside, when Luongo reached back with his left arm and swiped the puck under him.
Luongo stopped 28 of 30 shots.
"If it weren't for Roberto, it would have been 7-0. It was not a good game on our part to say the least," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "As far as I'm concerned there was one team on the ice. It was the Dallas Stars. They outworked us, outhustled us. … If we bring this type of game or efficiency on the ice. I don't like our chances."
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