Dallas Stars' Mike Ribeiro gets shootout game-winner in intense matchup against Phoenix Coyotes –NHL
Dallas and Phoenix were battling it out for supremacy of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference which had the Stars on the edge about to lose their third place position for an eight place battle to retain a playoff spot.
Luckily, the Stars got the shootout game-winner as Mike Ribeiro made the only one on Mike Smith, allowing Dallas to take the win and the much needed two points, 4-3, Tuesday night, March 20, 2012, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
After a season long top spot, Dallas is now risking falling down once again and if it all goes wrong for the Southern team, the Stars might just be ousted from the elite eight of the West, a worst case scenario.
"We need to play a team game," Stars coach, Glen Gulutzan, said. "We need to play for each other in that room. That's what gave us success when we went on our little run, and that's what's going to give us success in the playoffs. If we deviate from that,
we're going to be in trouble."
Phoenix Coyotes are at number-nine with 84 points and only two points above trailing San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames.
Loui Eriksson kicked off the scoring for Dallas 2:12 into the opening period. Lauri Korpikoski responded to level the match nearly three minutes later with his 16th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.
The second period was extremely intense as over 60 minutes in penalty time was given out to player in the middle round alone. Michael Ryder signalled the Dallas rebound as he scored both goals of the second 20 minute phase, the first on a power play.
Phoenix was not about to let down the two points so easily as they came back with two back-to-back of their own with Oliver Ekman-Larsson grabbing the shorthanded goal and Ray Whitney firing off on a power play to force the overtime extension.
"Those guys (Ryder and Eriksson) are elite players," Ribeiro said. "They can score, they can pass, they can play well defensively, they can do everything right on the ice. It's easy to play with those guys. They've been scoring most of the goals for our
team and once again tonight.”
Dallas is definitely looking to retain their third spot in the West heading into the playoffs. Stars have some tough competition on Thursday as they host Vancouver Canucks.
Phoenix on the other hand, has the next at home against Colorado Avalanche, definitely a match to see as both teams fight to secure postseason positions on the same day.
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