Mike Modano Weekly Wrap-Up: Tuesday, February 4, 2003

Only one regular season game was on tap during the past week due to the NHL All-Star Break.  The Stars entered the break as the top team in the NHL and Mike Modano was among the league’s top five scorers.  Modano was named Captain of the NHL Western Conference All-Stars and made his presence felt in both the Skills Challenge and game itself. 

Wednesday, January 29 vs. Calgary (W, 4-1)

Stat line:
Two assists
Plus/minus: +1
19:50 of ice time, 22 shifts
• 1:54 power play
• 1:31 shorthanded
8 of 17 faceoffs won (47%)
Two shots on goal

Notes:
• Modano vs. Calgary, career: 48 games, 20 goals, 26 assists, 46 points
• Played on a line with Pierre Turgeon and Bill Guerin as Stars coach Dave Tippett continued his recent trend of mixing and matching lines.

Quotes:
“What a great long way Mike has come as a player and a leader and now being recognized by the hockey community for all his contributions.”
 Stars president Jim Lites on Modano being named All-Star Captain

“He likes open ice.  I mean, what can you say, (Mike) was made for All-Star games.”
 Stars teammate, Sergei Zubov

“The All-Star Game is fun and it’s especially an honor to go as a starter.  It makes a difference, for sure.”
 Modano on playing in the NHL All-Star Game

Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2 at NHL All-Star Weekend

Skills Challenge Notes:

• Modano did not participate in the Shooting Accuracy competition, but he and Anaheim’s Paul Kariya served as “puck delivery men” to their Western Conference All-Star Team participants.
• In the Pass & Score competition, Modano teamed up with Mathieu Schneider of Los Angeles and Ray Whitney of Columbus against New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur and the trio was the only one in the competition to score three goals (on three attempts).  The most scored by any other trio was one goal.
• In the Breakaway Relay event, Modano was the sixth of six players attempting to score on a breakaway against Brodeur in a total of 45 seconds.  With only five seconds or so left when his turn came, Modano turned on the jets and scored on a beautiful move prompting ABC announcer Darren Pang to comment, “Modano was the best looking guy in that one—great move!”

NHL All-Star Game Notes:

• Modano scored the second goal of the game for the Western Conference with 11:02 remaining in the first period on Nikolai Khabibulin of Tampa Bay.  Modano skated primarily on a line with Stars teammate Bill Guerin and Ray Whitney of Columbus.  In the third period, the lines were changed a bit and he skated with both Paul Kariya of Anaheim and Teemu Selanne of San Jose and then Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund of Vancouver.
• In overtime, Modano skated 4-on-4 in the first group with Guerin, Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit and Ed Jovanovski of Vancouver and nearly ended the game 30 seconds into the extra period with a wicked backhander off the post behind Ottawa’s Patrick Lalime.

Quotes:

“Everybody was gearing down at the end; they didn’t want to be the line that got scored against – and that’s definitely against the norm for an All-Star Game.  The format is better, it kind of brings back a little bit of fire of which conference is better.”
 Modano, on the 2003 NHL All-Star Game

“A year like this changes your mind.  Years like last year change your mind, too.  If you strung three or four years in a row like last year, then you’d say, ‘What else can I do?’  These types of years you maybe take for granted (when you’re younger).  They don’t happen all the time.  When they do, you try and milk it for all it’s worth.”
 Modano, comparing the 2002-2003 season to the 2001-2002 season

“I bet if they did it right now, Mike would be there.”
 Jaromir Jagr discussing the well-received NHL promo spot featuring legends Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr “passing the torch” to Jagr, Paul Kariya, Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure.

“To me, (Mike) is one of the top one, two or three players in the world today.  He has every single component to be the best player in the world.”
 Jeremy Roenick of the Philadelphia Flyers

“After the Pat LaFontaine years, he’s the stamp.  He’s the No. 1 overall.  When he won the Cup, that put him on a pedestal.  He’s a wonderful player, and I can’t say enough about what he’s done for USA hockey.  He is the guy you think of when you think of USA hockey.”
 Doug Weight of the St. Louis Blues

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, February 5 vs. St. Louis (FSN, 7:30)
Saturday, February 8 at Phoenix (KDFI-Ch. 27, 8:00)
Sunday, February 9 vs. Los Angeles (KDFI-Ch. 27, 6:00)