Full Stanley Cup Story
Eye on the prize
Stars reach final goal with consistency, attention to detail.
06/22/99
By Bill Nichols / The Dallas Morning News
The Stars made changes to help them
win the Stanley Cup, signing free agent
Brett Hull to deliver big goals. But it was
their ability to stay consistent by doing
the little things that delivered the
ultimate prize.
The Stars had a mission that started at
training camp, and they rarely wavered
off course. Key players went down with
injuries, but they kept grinding, never
losing more than two straight games.
Hull's signing showed that the Stars
were serious contenders. They began
the season favored to win the Cup, and
because of that, took each team's best
shot. But along the way, they answered
each challenge with a deep lineup and
disciplined attention to detail.
Through it all, the Stars preached the
importance of never getting too high and
never getting too low. In the end, that
strong mental approach, headed by a
strong group of veterans with 10 Cup
rings, guided them through adverse
situations and close games.
"One of the things I liked about our team
was the expectations that we had,"
general manager Bob Gainey said. "We
finished last season really strong and
then we went out and we signed a top
free agent and we brought the spotlight
on ourselves. And then once we got in
the spotlight, we performed like we
should."
Off to a good start
The Stars opened the season against
the Buffalo Sabres in a matchup
between the two conference runner-ups.
Little did they know that their 4-1 victory
over the Sabres at Reunion Arena on
Oct. 10 was a sign of things to come.
Throughout the regular season, coach
Ken Hitchcock stayed on the players.
Losses in seemingly meaningless
games in October and November usually
resulted in hard practices in which they
worked on the mistakes they made. At
one point, during a long break between
games, Hitchcock put them through a
mini training camp.
By the first week in December, facing a
difficult schedule with 10 of 15 games on
the road, the Stars were rolling. They
entered the Dec. 6 game at Edmonton
in second place behind Phoenix in the
Western Conference with a record of
14-5-3.
But that 6-2 win over the Oilers began a
15-game unbeaten streak that ended on
Jan. 8 with a 1-0 loss in Calgary. The
streak put the Stars in first place in the
conference, a position they would hold the rest of the way toward their second
straight Presidents' Trophy.
Hitchcock let loose of the reigns after Christmas, when veteran players came
to him asking if they could take more control of the dressing room and let
Hitchcock worry about the overall picture. Hitchcock agreed, then found that
his veterans were tougher on the group than he was.
"We've been a team that, even though we win, we keep focusing on the next
thing," wing Pat Verbeek said. "It's one of the best teams I've ever played on
in that everybody puts the team in front of themselves."
That would pay big dividends as the Stars struggled down the stretch of the
regular season. Having wrapped up the conference regular-season title, and
with little motivation, the Stars went 6-4 in their final 10 games, including
losses to potential playoff opponents Phoenix and Colorado.
Post-season tests
Dallas drew a difficult first-round opponent in Edmonton, which had given the
Stars fits in the post-season the previous two years. And the Stars were
without captain Derian Hatcher, who missed the first five playoff games
because of a suspension for breaking the jaw of Phoenix's Jeremy Roenick,
and his defensive partner, Richard Matvichuk, sidelined with knee and groin
injuries.
Although Dallas swept Edmonton, the Stars
needed maximum effort. Their 3-2 win to clinch
the series in Edmonton took three overtimes.
That game set the tone for the rest of the
playoffs.
Against St. Louis in the second round, the Stars
faced a team that posed some real matchup
problems. Dallas and St. Louis battled through
four overtime games, including the deciding
Game 6. In that game, Hull beat his former team
with assists on both goals in a 2-1 win.
It wouldn't get any easier in the Western
Conference finals. The Stars faced a Colorado
team that won four straight over the defending
Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
The Avalanche immediately put the Stars in a
hole with a 2-1 victory in the opener in Dallas.
But the Stars retained home-ice advantage with
two wins, including one in Denver. The momentum shifted almost every game,
and the Stars blew a chance to take control when they lost Game 4, 3-2, in
overtime. When they lost, 7-5, in the next game at Reunion, the Stars trailed
the series, 3-2.
Dallas, led by Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner, stormed back with
its two best playoff performances. The Stars won in Denver, 4-1, then won
Game 7, 4-1, before the loudest crowd of the season at Reunion.
Final challenge
After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1991, and only
the second time in franchise history, the Stars found themselves in familiar
territory against Buffalo. They lost the first game, at Reunion, 3-2 in overtime.
Just like the conference finals, the Stars won the next two to retain home-ice
advantage.
Although the Sabres won Game 4, the
Stars never allowed the Sabres to reach
Game 7. In Buffalo for Game 6, the
Stars were outplayed much of the game,
but goalie Ed Belfour held them
together, keeping the game tied at the
end of regulation.
The teams battled for three overtimes,
with Belfour matching Dominik Hasek
save for save. With five players
competing with seriously injured knees,
and others getting recharged with IVs
between periods, Hitchcock looked over
at assistant coach Rick Wilson on the
bench during the third overtime.
"There must be an easier way to win,"
Hitchcock told Wilson. "This can't be as
hard as it feels. We've been going at this
thing for two months. We've played
countless overtime games. We've been
to the wall two or three times and we
responded."
The Stars answered the final challenge
when Hull shoveled a shot past Hasek
at 14:51 of the sixth period. That shot, by the player they brought in to do just
that, ended the second longest game in Finals history and gave the Stars
their first Stanley Cup.
Although the Sabres protested that Hull's skate was in the crease, officials
ruled that he had control of the puck. The Stars weren't about to go back on
the ice. They had nothing left.
The victory had special meaning for all involved.
Belfour, after winning duels against Grant Fuhr, Patrick Roy and Hasek,
hushed his critics who said he couldn't win the big one by making 53 saves in
the finale. And Nieuwendyk, with 11 post-season goals and six game winners,
captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after missing the playoffs
last season to have reconstructive surgery on both knees.
The spray of champagne in the locker room, and posing for pictures with the
Cup, put the finishing touches on a season that took more than eight months
and 105 games.
"The dream was always like this,"
Modano said. "At times I'd sit in my
room and was ready to break down. You
try to find a little extra. You push
yourself to the extreme and see what
you have on the other side. To go out
the way we did in a game like this,
that's what makes it real sweet."
Email: starschamps99@starsfan.com
