No, they aren't the same winning machine they were earlier in the season.

And, yes, they were playing their third-string goalie in only his seventh NHL appearance.

But the Detroit Red Wings are still the Detroit Red Wings, and beating them on any occasion is big news for the Dallas Stars.

Dallas took a 1-0 victory over Detroit and 23-year-old backstop Jimmy Howard on Sunday afternoon in a nationally-televised game before a packed house at American Airlines Center. And the fact that league-leading Detroit now is 0-5-1 in its last six games didn't seem to dull the excitement for the Stars.

"They've had our number for a while, so I think this is a huge win," Stars winger Steve Ott said. "Marty Turco [28 saves for his 32nd career shutout] knows he can play any game against that team and win – and I think our team does, too. We have to continue to prove it against them, but I think this definitely helps our confidence."

It also creates an interesting situation for the Stars, who were 18 points behind league-leading Detroit at the All-Star break in late January. Dallas, which has gone 9-1-0 in its last 10 games, now is just eight points behind the Red Wings in the standings. What's more, the Stars are putting distance between themselves and the rest of the West. Dallas sits second in the NHL in points (79), wins (37), winning percentage (.627) and goal-differential (plus-28).

AP

Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco (left) made 28 saves in the Stars' 1-0 win over Detroit on Sunday.

"Anything is possible," Stars winger Niklas Hagman said when asked if the Stars could catch Detroit with 19 games remaining in the season. "Obviously, it would be nice to catch them, but if we get ahead in our point situation in our division, that would be a good situation, too."

The bigger opportunity, coach Dave Tippett said, is the Stars establishing themselves as a top seed in the playoffs and a team that can go into the postseason with confidence.

"We've hunkered down, and we're trying to have everybody raise their level," Tippett said. "We're trying to become the best team we can be. If we want to be a very good team during the stretch drive and in the playoffs, we have to get better. Even in games we've won, we still have guys who have to get better. That has to continue to be our focus."

That was clearly their focus Sunday, and while it worked, Tippett said there still were holes. Dallas waded slowly into the game and Turco, who pushed his career record against Detroit to 2-9-5, had to stop the first six shots of the game before the Stars even got a shot on goal.

"I'm running out of words to describe how Marty is playing," said Hagman, who would eventually get the game-winning goal in the third period. "At the start, middle, and definitely the end, they had good chances. I don't know how he managed to get some of those saves. We've always had a tough time against Detroit. It was a huge win."

Turco admitted he was motivated to beat his nemesis, but he said he too is focused on the big picture.

"It's finding ways to win," Turco said. "As well as we have been playing, it's so much more important to continue to build good habits and learn from all of these experiences."

The Stars believe they can do that if they continue to keep their focus on improving their team play and take it one game at a time. Sure, it's a sports cliché, but they believe it works.

"When you take care of the details within a game, it gives you a better percentage to win," Tippett said. "The more little things you can put in place, the better chance you have to win. And then you need a big play to win the game, but you can't get to that point unless you do the little things well."