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Inside the Dallas Stars-San Jose Sharks series
01:14 AM CDT on Thursday, May 8, 2008
Key stat: Dallas' 2.89 goals per game during the regular season ranked second in the Western Conference.
Comment: As difficult as it may be for Stars fans to believe, the defensive-minded Stars have become one of the top scoring teams in the conference, and they pretty much have the edge in offense against everyone except Detroit. San Jose has a talented group of forwards led by Joe Thornton and a solid power play, but Dallas' balanced approach and deadly power play give the Stars a slight advantage.
Edge: Dallas
Key stat: San Jose ranked third in the NHL in goals-against average at 2.28.
Photos: Games 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Video: Steve Ott
Second round: Stars vs. Sharks
Game 1: 9 p.m. Fri. in San Jose
Cowlishaw: Turco older and wiser
Game 1 preview | Series preview | Predictions
Roster | Statistics | Schedule
Comment: As strong as Dallas is on defense, San Jose has been better. The Stars rank sixth in GAA at 2.49, and the Sharks rank third. Dallas ranks fourth in shots against at 26.1, and San Jose ranks second at 24.2. The Sharks' defense is a mixed bag, but this is a very good defensive team made much better by the trade deadline acquisition of Brian Campbell.
Edge: San Jose
Key stat: San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov ranked first during the season in wins (46) and third in GAA (2.14).
Comment: Neither goalie has had significant success in the postseason, but Nabokov probably will win the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie this season. Going on season performance, Nabokov (2.14 GAA, .910 save percentage) gets the nod over Turco (2.32, .909). If you want to tighten things up, Turco (2.01, .912) was better in the West quarterfinals.
Edge: San Jose
Key stat: The Stars led the NHL in power-play goals (10) and opportunities (33) in the first round.
Comment: The Sharks were a notch better than the Stars during the regular season, ranking first on the penalty kill to Dallas' second and ranking 10th on the power play to Dallas' 13th. But in the playoffs, the Stars have lived on special teams. Their 10 power-play goals and 33 power-play opportunities led the first round.
Edge: Dallas
Key stat: Ron Wilson is 26-20 in the playoffs in five seasons with the Sharks.
Comment: Stars coach Dave Tippett has the highest regular-season winning percentage among active NHL coaches with a 235-127-48 record. But he is 15-20 in the playoffs, and his team has advanced to the second round for just the second time in five tries. Wilson took the 1997-98 Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals and the 2003-04 Sharks to the Western Conference finals.
Edge: San Jose
A look at the Stars' and Sharks' probable forward lines and defensive pairings:
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Goalie: Marty Turco
Injured: D Sergei Zubov (foot/groin/sports hernia) is day to day; D Philippe Boucher (hip strain) is out.
Extras: G Johan Holmqvist, LW Brad Winchester, RW Krys Barch, RW Brandon Crombeen, D Dan Jancevski, RW Konstantin Pushkarev, LW Chris Conner, G Tobias Stephan.
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Goalie: Evgeni Nabokov
Injured: D Kyle McLaren (groin), D Brad Norton (back)
Extras: C Curtis Brown, LW Jody Shelley, C Tomas Plihal, D Alexei Semenov, D Sandis Ozolinsh.
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