Stars advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals

Goodness, for the first time since 2003 the Stars have made it past round 1.  I still remember that playoff run very clearly.  

The Stars managed to dethrone the Ducks in 6 games, something most “experts” were saying couldn’t happen and most picked the Ducks to come out on top.  The Stars had a different game plan.  After an awful March, they came back to play as a full team.  Everyone had everyone’s back.  They played together and won together.  And boy did it feel great.

The crowd at the AAC for Game 6 was electric, most expecting the Stars to knock out the Ducks that night.  Boy what I would’ve given to be able to be in that crowd. 

One thing that’s been bothering me is the way a lot of people are talking about this series; that the Stars won because the Ducks weren’t on their game.  The Ducks looked about the same as they did to me during the regular season: beatable.  Give the Stars credit people, they simply outplayed the Ducks by a mile even with 3 rookies on the blueline.  Our rookies played fantastic, especially Mark Fistric.  They were just absolutely amazing. 

Here are my personal Star Rankings for this series:

yes i can haz goal!

• #1 Stéphane Robidas: I can not sing his praises enough.  He has been so important to this team for a while and has played his poor broken nose(s) off.  Speaking of, who else would break his nose in a game, have to be helped off the ice only to return 5 minutes later to keep playing?  Complete with cotton up his nostril to stop the bleeding.  He is a warrior and deserves all the praises of the world.  (DallasStars.com seems to agree with me)

Teddy bear roll engage!

• #2 Marty Turco:Last year he shook those first-round critics off his back only to still go out in the first round.  This year, he got the support needed to get the wins we all know he’s deserved for a long time.  We finally have the offense needed to get through playoffs.  That man, I swear.  He makes the CRAZIEST saves.  Saves that when you see you just sit with your chin on the floor unable to breath from shock.  He is one fierce mofo.

Ima karate kid your ass right out of the playoffs

• #3 Brenden Morrow: I swear this isn’t because I’m biased.  He is everything you need your captain to be, especially in the post season.  He plays with his heart, leads by example and he is one big reason this team made it as far as they did.  They followed his example and never quit, even when we were down 4 goals and it seemed impossible to rally.  He makes me (and I’m sure the entire team) proud to call him our Captain.

Now don’t get me wrong, our entire TEAM played amazing, but those were the 3 who really stuck out to me.  But we couldn’t have done this without every single player.

Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Playoffs, Recap, series 1