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DETROIT – Dave Tippett is planning to scrap all of the defensive pairings he used in Game 1.

That pretty much says all you need to know about what he thought about the Dallas Stars' defense in their 4-1 loss to Detroit.

So Tippett is wasting no time.

Good for him. This is no time to be stubborn. There's no guarantee anything he tries will work today in Game 2, but change is considerably better than the status quo.

There's no tangible evidence the same pairs of defensemen would fare any better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1.

The biggest change involves Mark Fistric.

He's out – based on the pairs that Tippett used in Friday's practice – and Matt Niskanen will replace him in the lineup. Tippett also paired Nicklas Grossman with Sergei Zubov and Stephane Robidas with Trevor Daley.

Mattias Norstrom will work with Niskanen, who's more adept at moving the puck and plays more of a finesse game than the hard-hitting Fistric.

No one is blaming Fistric for the Game 1 loss, but he took a roughing penalty less than five minutes into the game, giving Detroit a 5-on-3 power play that it quickly converted into a 1-0 lead.

You can't find anyone in the Stars' organization who believes the love tap Fistric gave Tomas Holmstrom was worthy of a penalty, especially that early in a scoreless game, but that's really irrelevant.

On Detroit's third goal, Fistric failed to move Holmstrom out of the crease, where he was practically sitting on Marty Turco's shoulders when he deflected a shot into the net for a 3-0 lead.

G.J. MCCARTHY / DMN

Dallas Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen is likely to replace Mark Fistric for Game 2.

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And he allowed Valtteri Filppula to get inside him at the blue line, leading to a mini-breakaway and a 4-0 lead in the second period.

Again, Fistric wasn't the only one making mistakes. Daley had a poor turnover in the Stars' zone that led to Mike Modano taking a penalty.

"Every team has the capability to capitalize on your mistakes at this level," said Tippett, "but when you turn it over in your zone, and those turnovers turn into scoring opportunities or make you take penalties, those are the ones that hurt the most."

No way the Stars would've totaled close to 100 points or advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2000 without their three young defensemen – Fistric, Niskanen and Grossman – but at this stage of the postseason every miscue is magnified, especially against the NHL's best team.

No, it's not debatable.

Not when the Red Wings finished first in the league in fewest goals allowed (184), wins (54) and points (115) and third in goals scored (257)and power-play percentage (20.7).

The Stars can't win high-scoring games against Detroit, which has beaten them in four of five games this season.

"We can't watch them and then attack," Norstrom said. "We have to be moving at the same speed they do – not sitting and waiting. We weren't surprised by their speed or what they do. It's old news, but they do it better than anyone else. That's why they win."

The Stars must slow down the Red Wings' puck-possession offensive approach with strong play in the neutral zone – confronting their skaters before they reach the red line – and force them to dump the puck into the Stars' zone.

Then Turco can do what he does best and act like a third defenseman by handling the puck and starting the Stars' counterattack.

Otherwise, the Stars will spend Game 2 chasing the Red Wings in a futile attempt to get the puck, which will leave them out of position and vulnerable to Detroit's nifty passing and quick-strike attempts.

No one said it would be easy – it isn't – but that's what the Stars must do to win.