Dallas Stars @ Vancouver Canucks Round 1 Game 1

[u2sarajevo]

Dallas Stars @ Vancouver Canucks Round 1 Game 1
STATS LLC

Game time: 9:00PM
TV info: 27/Versus

Marty Turco hasn't left much of a mark in his postseason career. Roberto Luongo finally has the opportunity to leave his.

The goaltending duel between Turco and Luongo will highlight what figures to be a very tight series as the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks open their Western Conference quarterfinal series Wednesday night at GM Place.

There is no bigger factor in the playoffs than goaltending, and in no first-round series will that be more on display than this matchup between Turco and Luongo, who is making his postseason debut in his seventh season.

Turco has been one of the NHL's best goaltenders the last four seasons but success in the playoffs has been harder to come by.

Since leading Dallas (50-25-7) to a first-round win over Edmonton in 2002-03, Turco has lost 12 of 16 playoff games with the Stars losing in the opening round to Colorado each of the past two seasons. He has allowed four goals or more in four of his last six playoff starts and is 8-14 with a 2.54 goals-against average in 22 postseason games.

"Marty took a lot of criticism last year, probably unfairly," Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher said on the team's official Web site. "We win as a team, lose as a team. Marty's been very solid this season. We have tons of confidence in him. We've had great seasons and not-so-good results in the playoffs. So the pressure isn't just on Marty. It's on all of us."

Luongo, meanwhile, will be getting his first taste of the playoffs despite being one of the league's best goaltenders for most of his seven-year career. After toiling for five seasons in Florida, Luongo flourished during his first season with Vancouver (49-26-7), tying for the second-most wins in NHL history with 47 while posting a 2.29 GAA and five shutouts.

"It's exciting, I can't wait to get it started," Luongo said. "I've been waiting a long time for this and it's finally here so I'm really looking forward to Wednesday."

Luongo started slowly with his new team but picked up his play dramatically in 2007, leading the Canucks to a 32-8-8 mark after Christmas and the Northwest Division title. No player had a bigger role in helping Vancouver set franchise records for wins and points (105).

"Since Christmas, we obviously have been one of the best teams in the NHL," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "One of the reasons I think we have been one of the best teams is we've played hard at both ends of the rink. That's what we're going to have to do starting Wednesday."

Dallas also finished the season strong, losing in regulation in just two of its last 16 games. The Stars reached 100 points for the third time in four seasons, finishing sixth in the West.

Because both Dallas and Vancouver had such excellent goaltending during the regular season, the teams were successful despite being the two lowest-scoring teams in the conference playoffs. New Jersey (216) is the only playoff team that scored fewer goals than the Stars (226) and Canucks (222).

All four regular-season meetings between these teams were decided by 2-1 scores, with each club winning twice at home. Dallas won once in overtime and one of the Canucks' victories came in a shootout.

Although offensive depth is an issue for both teams, the Stars and Canucks both have some very capable forwards.

Dallas' surprising scoring leader was center Mike Ribeiro (59 points), while next on the list were defensemen Sergei Zubov (54) and Boucher (51). Mike Modano missed 23 games with hip and groin injuries but still managed 43 points in 59 games. He has 52 goals and 79 assists in 149 career playoff contests.

After leading the Canucks in scoring for seven consecutive seasons, captain Markus Naslund slumped to 60 points in 2006-07. That decrease, though, was offset by twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who combined for 165 points and emerged as two of the league's top forwards.

Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who missed Sunday's regular-season finale at Phoenix with a foot injury, hopes to be back for this game.

The only previous playoff meeting between these teams took place in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals, a series the Canucks won in five games. Vancouver's Trevor Linden and Modano are the only players on those teams playing in this series.

Game 2 is Friday at GM Place.

-------------------------

I am going for O/U on goals scored until someone can explain what the odds mean... On sportsnetwork.com for tonights game it shows Vancouver favored by 135? Huh? Someone? Anyone?

[Flacolaco]

Thanks u2

[u2sarajevo]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Thanks u2

No worries.... can you explain the question I had? About the odds (found at bottom of first post in bold)?

[Flacolaco]

It probably said something like Vancouver -135

This means that you're better on Vancouver to win the game straight up.

the -135 number means you must bet $1.35 to win $1.00

It's a ratio used to bet games with a straight up winner, because a traditional "spread" like you'll see in basketball and football isn't the best way to go Most hockey games are 1 or 2 goal games in terms of closeness.

[Flacolaco]

The Stars are a +115 for this game.

Meaning you bet $1.00, you win $1.15 because the Stars are underdogs

[u2sarajevo]

Okay, then I will probably stick to the goals scored. Thankfully they supply that.

[Flacolaco]

Yeah....You could put 15/11 odds on the Canucks to win to accomodate this type of betting....but too much math

(That doesn't work out quite right (1.363636) , but I don't feel like figuring it out.)

[Flacolaco]

This is the real vegas O/U on goals too...

If I weren't ultra conservative and married I would totally put real money on the under....

[untitled]

Awesome, thanks u2!

[ilMavvento]

Go Stars!!!

Dallas has the edge up and down the ice.... Marty just has to keep up with Luongo and we got this.

Looks like Eriksson/Lundqvist will be in for Game 1, Ott, Barch, and Lindros sitting.

[sike]

GO STARS!

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by ilMavvento

Go Stars!!!

Dallas has the edge up and down the ice.... Marty just has to keep up with Luongo and we got this.

Looks like Eriksson/Lundqvist will be in for Game 1, Ott, Barch, and Lindros sitting.

I think ultimately Eriksson will sit, and Ott will go in game 2

Otts mission in life is to piss people off. He's perfect for the playoffs.