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DALLAS - The Dallas Stars got nearly everything they were seeking when the Western Conference finals shifted back to Texas on Monday.
The fact that Detroit won, 5-2, suggests that maybe the Stars are looking for something that isn't out there.
They got the better scoring chances early, outshooting the Red Wings, 5-0, in the first few minutes. They got the Red Wings to take penalties, giving Dallas a seven-minute edge in power play time.
They won 43 percent of the faceoffs, which may sound awful given that they were at home, but after winning 38 and 29 percent in Games 1 and 2, at least the Stars got to play with the puck a little more frequently.
And they limited the team that gets the most shots on goal to 21 shots, their fewest in the postseason by five.
But they lost, 5-2, because they didn't get one thing they have lacked in this series.
They didn't get stand-on-his-head goaltending from Marty Turco.
It was strange to see him looking so 2005 playoffs-vulnerable in net here, the first game back at American Airlines Center since he delivered one of the best goaltending nights in Stars history. Turco stopped 61 of 62 shots against San Jose last week, allowing the Stars to advance to the conference finals with that four-overtime victory.
Turco stopped 16 of 21 shots Monday.
It was nothing like the Turco who outplayed Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov. Nothing at all.
That's not to say the Red Wings aren't the better team. Their skill players perform at a level that the Stars are unable to get to.
Or defend.
Pavel Datsyuk's hat trick, Henrik Zetterberg's short-handed goal and two assists - this is a two-man wrecking crew that apparently doesn't even need Johan Franzen, who was leading the team in goals before missing Games 2 and 3 with a concussion.
Magicfan1423 
