Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco was in a slump.

He had allowed seven goals on his last 30 shots and was pulled after only 13 minutes the last time he faced the Wild.

So coming up with 18 saves in a 3-1 win over Minnesota on Monday at America Airlines Center represented a big step forward.

"Sometimes, you're in a slump or you're not as good as you want to be, and you just have to work your way through it," Turco said. "It's just a matter of concentrating and preparing and not over-thinking. Trust your preparation. It sounds simple, but sometimes it's not."

Stars coach Dave Tippett said Sunday that goalies have to be prepared to stand up and not allow bad goals. Turco accepts that challenge, but he likes to focus on wins and losses more than good and bad goals.

"I think what I've learned over time is I wouldn't want to be doing this job by myself," Turco said. "I don't want to be like a pro golfer. I like being a part of a team – that's the most important part of this. The feeling of winning as a team is very special."

On Monday, Tippett said he was glad to see Turco play a big role in the win.

"Turco played very well and made key saves for us," Tippett said. "We were trying to stop the bleeding [of a four-game losing streak], and we know we are a team that needs certain things in order to win, and we got those tonight. We had enough positives to push us through."

Iowa on board: The Iowa Stars – Dallas' AHL affiliate – completed a run of three games in Texas on Sunday and attended Monday's game at AAC. Iowa will skate in Frisco at 10 a.m. today and then travel with the Stars this afternoon. Both teams have games in Chicago on Wednesday.

Tippett said that while it's good to see players who could be a heartbeat away from dressing for the Stars, he tries to concentrate on the daily job.

"Right now, I keep an eye on the 20 players I have right here," Tippett said. "And, hopefully, the GMs keep an eye on the rest of them. If there are adjustments that have to be made, I think we can make them. But right now, the 20 I have are taking up the majority of my day right now."

The Stars assigned Mark Fistric and Chris Conner to Iowa last week. Because Dallas plays at Chicago and at St. Louis, getting a replacement player to the NHL roster shouldn't be too difficult. And even if the Stars need a hand in California later in the five-game road trip, Stars co-GM Les Jackson said it shouldn't be a problem.

Briefly: The Stars' penalty kill, which ranks first in the NHL, shut out Minnesota on four chances Monday and has killed 33 of its last 34. ... The Stars are 9-1-1 in their last 11 home games against the Wild. ... Sergei Zubbov played in his 875th game in a Stars uniform and is two shy of tying Derian Hatcher for on the franchise list.