Dallas Co-General Manager Brett Hull was in Anaheim with his club and said that he feels that the reason Turco flies under the radar is that he plays in Dallas, where there’s not the heavy media coverage that you would find in a place like Chicago, New York or Boston. 

Even if fans around the country have no idea who Turco is, NHL players, coaches and GM’s know exactly who he is and what he can do.  He’s a big part of the reason that Dallas just came off a seven-game win streak and he’s going to be the reason that Dallas should enjoy playoff success come the spring.

Turco won his 161^st game for the Stars back on January 20, 2007 and there’s no reason to believe that he won’t keep rolling and continue to set that bar higher and higher for all Dallas goalies that follow in his footsteps.

Speaking of goalies that may follow in Turco’s footsteps, Hull is big on Mike Smith, the second year goalie that is more-than-capable of filling in when Turco needs a night off.  “He’s going to be a number one in the NHL someday,” Hull said.  While today is not that day, it’s safe to assume that the Stars will hold onto Smith as long as they can. 

Smith’s win-loss record may not be impressive (11-9-0) but compare his GAA (2.43 vs. 2.34) and save percentage (.907 vs. .910) to Turco’s and you can see that both goalies are capable of getting the job done night in and night out.

For now, it’s Turco Time in Big D and while it’s safe to assume Turco won’t eclipse the 38 wins he posted last season—Turco has 23 wins with 20 games left and Smith should get the nod a handful of times down the stretch—he should be rested come playoff time and that is something that will only help the Stars shine. 

By the way…the reason that Turco won’t hit 38 wins is because Stars Coach Dave Tippett has enough confidence in Smith to give him more playing time and thus keep Turco fresh; and that is only a good thing for Dallas.