Makeshift Dallas Stars make it happen in 3-1 win

"We were keeping it basic and simple and not really doing too much," Modano said. "Marty had a big hand in it, making some great saves and bailing us out at times. But it was all about really kind of getting into good position, moving the puck, supporting one another and not really trying to do too much."

Modano said the team proved something to itself with the ragtag roster.

"If you know what to do, you can put anybody in those roles," Modano said. "It always has been that way here. No one individual is bigger than the team. And when your top-end guys understand that and buy into it, everybody has no other option but to buy into it."

Tippett said getting Turco on top of his game also makes a big difference.

"He had to make some very good saves for us, because they're a hard team around the net," Tippett said. "He's a guy who cares deeply, and there was some 'over-try' in him for a long time. Now, he's just doing what he does best. He's one of our leaders, and he knows the best way for him to do good things for our team is to play well.''

Stars still recovering: Stars forwards Jere Lehtinen (upper body) and Joel Lundqvist (shoulder) continue to skate on their own in Texas but will need some time before they are ready to play, Stars coach Dave Tippett said. The Stars play three games in four nights, so the first chance to really skate with the team might be Saturday when the Stars practice. Tippett said the team is in "read and react" mode on all injuries.

Sergei Zubov is also out with a lower body injury, Steve Ott is expected to be out at least two more weeks with a broken hand, and Brenden Morrow is out six months after having knee surgery Tuesday.

Tippett said he heard the surgery for Morrow went well.

Minor league standouts Mark Fistric and Ray Sawada are out with injuries. The Stars could recall John Lammers from Houston (AHL) or Francis Wathier (Iowa) if they want to add an extra forward before tonight's game against Edmonton.

Briefly: Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen played in his 100th career game. ... Stars center Brad Richards remains the least penalized player in the NHL with 500 or more games played. Richards has two penalty minutes this season and 133 for his career in 587 games. ... Marty Turco is 47-12-3 in games against teams from Canada.

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