The Defending Champs Curse Strikes The Anaheim Ducks

Not since 2003 has a Stanley Cup champion made it through the first round of the playoffs the following year.  That trend has continued today after a highly underestimated Dallas Stars routed the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 in Dallas, TX.

The victory in todays game 6 not only eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champions from the playoffs, but broke the “first round” curse that has plagued the Dallas Stars for 5 long painful years.

Marty Turco, who has taken the brunt of the criticism over the previous years showed that he is one of the elite netminders in the NHL, finishing the round with a GAA of 2.01, including a shutout in game 1.

Anaheim, who were one of the strongest teams going down the final stretch into the playoffs faltered under the constant Dallas Attack, and struggled to get past the Dallas Defensive group; a group that included 3 rookies and was missing Sergei Zubov and (for most games) Philippe Boucher.

“It’s disappointing because we believe we could do better,” said Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of last year’s postseason who retired then decided to return to chase another Cup. “Our sights were set higher than this.”
- Yahoo! Sports

Dallas now have a few days to relax before the Western Conference Semi-Finals begin.  The Stars will face either the Colorado Avalanche or the San Jose Sharks in round 2, but wont know who until after game 7 between the Flames and Sharks on Tuesday evening.

Anaheim on the edge of elimination

A week ago who would have thought that the Anaheim Ducks would be on the edge of playoff elimination in game 5 against the Dallas Stars.  All but die-hard Dallas Fans appeared to have that much confidence in this Stars team, but they went out and they battled hard.

And today, in less than 12hrs time the Dallas Stars stand on the edge of 2 major milestones; elimination the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks from the playoffs, and more importantly making it past a first round.

Although the Stars share their victories and defeats equally, netminder Marty Turco needs this more than ever.  Turco has been the brunt of the public backlash over the last fews seasons, even last year when he posted 3 shutouts in a 7 game series against Vancouver, which the Stars eventually lost in.

“Tonight I felt really good,” said Turco, who made 28 saves. “I had an opportunity to see all the shots that came my way. There were some anxious, scrambly moments in the second period. But the guys were doing all they could to help me.”
- Yahoo! Sports

The Stars have momentum and a “knowledge” that they can win.  Now, they just have to go out there and take it.