Exactly.
That is exactly what I've been looking for out of these Stars since, oh, I don't know.... 2003? That was the kind of "I will kill him!"(*), epic, "You can't handle the truth" momentous game that defines a team/era. That was Brendan Morrow saying, "This is MY team, and we're going where I SAY we're going." That was Marty saying, "You don't die until I give you permission!"
[(*) For you Dune fans out there, think of the line by Sting in the first movie adaptation. Obviously, with a better end result for the speaker.]
And what is really great about it was that we took that proverbial shot in the mouth I mentioned after Game Three of the Sharks series - quite a few, in fact - and just smiled that evil smile and kept on trucking. Sort of like something out of Heavy Metal. And it was glorious.
That is the sort of game that binds a team, binds a fanbase, binds a city. "We few, we happy few."
That was the magic that every player fights for, every fan dreams about. And it happened right here.
Mad and major props to San Jose - gone are the fears that we would enter the next round without the confidence knowing that we could take a hit. Interestingly, same as it was at the end of the regular season. They shook off the first three games and played like madmen. And against a lesser team, it just might have been good enough.
But they were playing the Stars, and it wasn't. Sixty two shots weren't enough. More Toronto-review-madness wasn't enough. Knocking Stu Barnes out of the lineup in Game Three wasn't enough. All the great play they had - especially in the third period - wasn't enough.
Because Marty Turco, Brendan Morrow and their band of brothers said it wasn't.
"Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire" was what I said after Game Three in this series. In retrospect, it was a bit premature/inaccurate because after watching Marty and Nabokov go toe to toe, that was worth the price of admission. Damn. If you're a fan of hockey - hell, if you're a fan of sports - and you haven't seen the OT from that game Sunday/Monday, it is required viewer-ship. That was as epic as Belfour/Roy. Talk about broadsides at 20 yards! Some have compared it to the old Michael Jordan/Larry Bird McDonald's commercials, but the more I think about it, it sure was more like Ali-Foreman. Widow-maker after widow-maker to the jaw of the other team - "You think you just made the play to end this marathon? Go away, little boy, and take your toys with you."
And in the end, it was the grinders, the workers, the gritty, gutsy, ballsy guys who got it done - Robidas and Morrow. Should it really surprise people that those two took pucks to the face in these playoffs and kept playing? That is was that kind of player that made the winning play in the seventh period of play (essentially, the beginning of a third consecutive hockey game)? It shouldn't be. Just like it was players like Mike Keane who did it for the Stars in 1999. I love players like Ribero and Richards - I really do. But at the end of the day, when it is in the deep dark of night, it is the tough guys who get the job done.
It takes a team. It takes all the moving parts. In that sense, I'm not taking anything away from Modano, etc. Everyone played their part. But the Difference Makers are the guys who keep their heads when the race turns out to be over twice as long as you expected it to be, who still have the stones to do the hard work, the mental strength to not be tired when their body had every right to pack up and go home - enough to be That Guy who makes That Play.
Dallas - soak this up. Drink it in, Texas - your hockey team is a bad mutha. Let it sink in. Make sure you appreciate it for what it is.
Because up next is another monster - possibly the biggest. It could be argued that the Western Conference Finals will decide who wins Lord Stanley's. On one hand, you have the team with the best record in the league - by far - and the team that vanquished the only real challenger that team had to the top spot, along with the defending Stanley Cup champs.
This isn't to say that there isn't talent in the East - by all means, there sure is, and winning the WCF doesn't mean the SCF are going to be a cakewalk. Far from it. But I'm trying to put in perspective that as much as we've accomplished in these playoffs, it pales in comparison to the challenge laid before Your Dallas Stars in the next round. Hockeytown and all their fans. The history of the Detroit Red Wings. The players that wear those sweaters - the ones who pretty much laid the wood on the league this year. All of that awaits them starting Thursday.
I think we're ready. I think we have it in us to slay another Dragon.
But that is a column for another day. I bring it up only to give pause - to suggest you watch the tape again. And again. And again. Let Game Six of the San Jose series become a part of your essence. Because you will need every ounce of that confidence to be ready for the next challenge, and because no matter what happens in the next round, this feat needs to be recognized.
Hell, this game needs to be memorized.
If the Stars go on in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, this game will be seen as a catalyst. If the Stars don't, that game would probably be the highlight of the year. And even if that happens, this still has been the beginning of what probably is another era of incredible Dallas Stars play - have you looked at how young we are in a lot of areas? It reminds me of the Avs way back when - with kids who could kill.
Either way, May 4 will go down as one of the most important moments in Stars history.
Know your history, boys and girls. Know your history.
