Times are pretty good for the Dallas Stars these days. The team is in first place in the Pacific Division with 35 points and has three games in-hand on second place Los Angeles, which has 33 points. In fact, the Stars have played less games than any team in the Pacific Division (25).

But that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. Its ironic that a big part of the "work" that the team is doing right now is making sure it takes advantage of the schedule to get what Head Coach Dave Tippett calls "maximum rest."

Dallas is in the middle of a stretch that sees the team play only six games in a span of 21 days (Nov. 27-Dec. 17). But beginning on Dec. 18, the Stars will play 29 games in 57 days, which computes to an average of one game every 1.96 days. This will take the team all the way to the Olympic Break in February.

Tippett, always organized with an eye for what's ahead for the team, saw a golden opportunity Friday to get his number one net-minder some advance rest while getting Johan Hedberg an important start in goal.

Hedberg responded with a 5-4 win against one of the best teams from the Eastern Conference in Carolina.

"(Friday's) win was a big one for us," said Tippett. "Johan made some big stops for us, especially in overtime and the shootout. It was good to see him get a win and give Marty a chance to have a full week off before we hit a very important stretch in our schedule."

There is no question that Turco has been one of the main factors in Dallas' recent success, winning 11 of the last 13 games. It has been a complete team effort, but it all starts and ends with the goaltender.

"Every team needs a backbone that makes them solid all the way throughout and Turco has really been our backbone over the last month or so," said Tippett. "We gave him a little bit of a break at the beginning of November to let him work on his game a little and to his credit he's worked hard and he's come out and been that solid backbone that we need. He just gives us a chance to win in every game and that is really all you can ask from a goaltender. He's getting us wins."

Turco is following his coach's advice and taking advantage of the current light schedule.

"I naturally want to play in every game but also recognize the value in getting rests at opportune times," said Turco. "We've been getting wins and we need to keep working hard as a team and keep the consistent play going. We win as a team and we want to keep the wins going."

 

DALLAS (Nov. 28, 2005) — The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Adrian Griffin. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Griffin returns to the Mavericks for the second time after playing in Dallas during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

The six-year pro spent last season with the Chicago Bulls. He played in 69 games and averaged 2.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.00 steal in 9.7 minutes a game.

Dallas originally signed Griffin as a free agent on July 27, 2001. In the two seasons with Dallas, he averaged 6.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.06 assists in 188 games while starting 157. He was a part of the Mavericks team that went 60-22 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Griffin, who also played for Boston and Houston, spent three years in the CBA, the USBL and the Italian League after his college career at Seton Hall before playing in the NBA. He will wear No. 8 tonight but switch to No. 44 permanently.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 – The Detroit Pistons’ Flip Saunders and the Dallas Mavericks’ Avery Johnson were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month for games played in November.

Johnson led the Mavericks to a 10-4 record for the month, which included wins over Phoenix, San Antonio, Detroit and Miami. The last time a team defeated all four conference finalists from the previous playoffs in the first month of the season was 1962. The Mavericks shot 46.6 percent from the field, averaged 99.3 points and held opponents to under 90 points five times.

Other nominees for the Coach of the Month award were Cleveland's Mike Brown, Golden State's Mike Montgomery, Los Angeles Clippers’ Mike Dunleavy, New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Byron Scott, Orlando's Brian Hill and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.