GAME 6 IN SEVEN ACTS - AND 454 FLOWERY WORDS

Act One

The Stars go on the attack early. There is a flurry of feverish activity. Nabokov holds strong. There is no gold to be mined in this first period. The crowd fidgets - pensive - unsure.

Act Two

Antti, Game 5s goat horn fitted puck-fumbler, turns hero as he is rewarded for being the second mouse to the cheese. Stars 1, Sharks 0 after two.

Act Three

The Sharks become aggressive. They test Turco at every turn. Wrist shots. Slap shots. Tricky little cram shots. All are sent back but for one. Clowe makes the red light glow, getting the game back to level. Just prior to the period expiring the rugged one, Morrow, inflicts great sorrow on the Sharks with a pulverizing body belt on series goal leader, the marvelous but now mangled Milan Michalek.

Act Four

Nabokov provides the first of many tentacular saves by the men in masks when he miraculously and artfully snares a Richards bid from its lethal path toward his yawning net. Moments later Turco answers with a megatherean leg stop on Captain Marleau. Mammoth save is matched by mastodonic stop which in turn spawns an elephantine response by the man at the other end. All told, 29 shots are fired at the two netminders in the first overtime frame and all 29 are without result. Ribeiro, the vulpine Star comes the closest, marrying puck to iron late in the stanza.

Act Five

The fifth period is but seconds old when the screw up fairy taps stalwart defenseman Stephane Robidas on the shoulder assisting his fall, nudging the vulcanized pill into the awaiting wheel-house of Jumbo Joe Thornton. His 20 foot blast is reflexively spit aside by that larcenous left pad of Marty Turco. The big brick building in downtown Dallas again erupts. Chants of Turco's given name echo throughout the now throbbing edifice. And so they play on.

Act Six

Weary legs continued to churn, minds and hearts egging them on. Goaltenders continue to repel scoring chances with stunning efficiency. Statistics continue to pile up at a rate that would fatigue the most caffeinated accountant. And the first powerplay in over two hours, a Shark PP, comes and goes. The score remains the same. Those who have remained become ever more tremulous.

Act Seven

Game 6 is no longer in its infancy. As period seven reaches its mid-point referee Dan O'Halloran's right arm reaches for the sky. Eriksson has been fouled. A powerplay has been afforded the playoff's number two ranked unit. Forty-nine seconds is all it takes for Ribeiro to find Robidas who feigns shot then sets Morrow's table. Standing unmolested in front of the Shark cage the team's inspirational captain serves dinner for thousands of famished Stars fans. Jubilation. Reward. Vindication. Handshakes.

The exhausted ice warriors exit stage right.

Fini

*Note: You can see and hear Game 6 in all it's magnificent splendor when it's replayed (in a condensed, readers digest, cliff notes version) on Thursday at 11:00am on FSN Southwest. Think of it as a quicky “nooner” with sweaty hockey players, verbose announcers, and a happy ending.