Dave Tippett was quietly impressed Monday afternoon.

The players he talked to weren't tired or sore. They were excited.

"Adrenaline is a very strong thing," the Stars coach said.

Tippett gave his players the day off after they played the third-longest game in franchise history in ending their Western Conference semifinal in six games. They beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1, at the 69:03 mark of overtime. The victory ended a series in which the Stars grabbed a 3-0 lead only to watch the Sharks claw back into contention with two wins before the marathon game that began shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday and ended at 1:24 a.m. Monday.

Tippett plans to give players the option of skating today and then will put the team through a full workout Wednesday in preparation for Game 1 of the Western finals at Detroit on Thursday.

"Rest, recovery, and then get focused," Tippett said.

But as much as his team needed to refill the tank, the historic overtime contest might have been just the thing to push the Stars to a new level.

Marty Turco now knows he can outduel the best goalies in the league – taking down defending Stanley Cup champion Jean-Sebastien Giguere of Anaheim in the first round and Vezina Trophy finalist Evgeni Nabokov in the second round. Sergei Zubov skated in Game 6 for more than 53 minutes with a sports hernia injury that appears to be completely healed. And a handful of players who have never had to step up in a true pressure situation received a symposium on how to respond in the playoffs.

"We're a different team than last year," center Mike Ribeiro said. "We have a lot more confidence, and we're a lot more mature."

Ribeiro joked after playing a career-high 52 minutes that he'll never complain about lack of ice time again. He took intravenous fluids after the game, as did almost all of the Stars players. Captain Brenden Morrow said before entering the training room, "I'll probably have an IV ... or two."

Morrow, who is listed at 5-11, 205 pounds, joked that he lost so much fluid during the game he was at his 14-year-old playing weight of 180.

To keep their strength, the Stars ate plenty of fruit and power bars and consumed gallons of water and sports drinks. The players also kept a positive vibe going throughout the locker room as they changed T-shirts, dried equipment and did anything to cool down.

"Everyone was positive in here," Turco said. "There wasn't one sound of negative."

And Turco just kept telling his teammates that he would not allow another goal.

"He just kept saying he was going to shut the door," Morrow said. "And we just had to get one in."

Tippett said he understands the need for physical recovery from that kind of experience, but he could his players' hunger to get back on the ice.

"Recovery is a whole lot easier after you win," Tippett said.

Even the veterans said they felt good. Mike Modano, the team's oldest player at 37, was full of energy. Stephane Robidas played 50 minutes and said he felt fine.

"I think it's better to play than to watch it," Robidas said. "Once you're in, you just go and follow the rhythm and you don't really think. You just go, go, go, go. The game keeps going and going, and obviously we're tired. We're exhausted. But now with the big win, I feel great."

Mix that with the feeling the team gained in an important victory, and maybe a game that stretched into the seventh period was actually just what the doctor ordered.

"A lot can change in one year," Modano said. "Everybody is slowly forgetting the past, and one good spring can do that. We're hoping we can keep building on what we've had this season."

Staff writer Brandon George contributed to this report.