Turco Picks Up His Play

Before the series began, the Mighty Ducks’ Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the goaltender of choice. But Dallas goalie Marty Turco has quietly emerged as a force.

Turco has steadily improved in his one-on-one battles with Duck shooters, who jumped on him for three goals in their first 12 shots in Game 1. Since then, Turco has allowed five goals in 97 shots.

The Ducks have had success getting the puck high against Turco, who likes to protect the bottom of the net. But in the waning seconds of the Stars’ 2-1 victory in Game 3, Turco showed why he’s one of the NHL’s top netminders.

The Ducks’ Petr Sykora had a chance to tie the score and send the game into overtime, but after luring Turco to the ice to prepare for a kick save, Sykora’s shot was knocked away by Turco. Sykora would probably have beaten Turco with that move in the first period of Game 1.

A breakdown of Game 4:

DUCKS’ MOVE -- Led by Steve Rucchin’s four shots on goal in the first period, the Ducks did a good job of attacking the Stars’ zone early in Monday’s game. But in the second period, the Ducks lost some of their crispness when Dallas took a 2-1 lead.

The Ducks have to be determined not to allow the Stars to dictate the pace for long stretches tonight.

In Game 3, the Ducks’ fourth line struggled after having been a major factor in the first two games. Jason Krog’s line doesn’t play a lot, but it needs to be able to get shots and avoid penalties. That didn’t happen Monday. No shots were recorded by Patric Kjellberg, Marc Chouinard and Krog, and Krog went to the penalty box for holding an opponent’s stick in the first period.

The Ducks need their fourth line clicking to take pressure off leading scorers Paul Kariya and Sykora.

DALLAS’ MOVE -- The Stars had to be pleased with the skating room they had in Game 3. It didn’t happen too often, but when it did, the Ducks gave Dallas a huge lane in the middle of the ice.

The more speed Dallas can generate in the neutral zone, the better chance the Stars have of scoring against Giguere. They scored their first goal Monday when Jere Lehtinen was able to float into the Ducks’ zone and knock in a rebound, and Brenden Morrow’s speed led to a slashing penalty on Rob Niedermayer, and the Stars scored a power-play goal moments later.

It will be interesting to see if the Stars get more from right wing Bill Guerin, who returned to the lineup in Game 3 after sitting out nearly two months because of thigh surgery. On Monday, Guerin played only 7 minutes 43 seconds and failed to get a shot on goal.