Why the lead matters

Links (2)

Evening Line
Published 5/19/2008 by Paul at KK Hockey
via the Dallas Stars Blog, “… if you score first, you’re in the lead, you control match-ups better more often because the other coach is trying to get his offense out there,” Babcock said. “Often what happens in games where you’re behind, you don’t play as many people. You got to play the guys who can score.”

First is best
Published 5/19/2008 by George James Malik at Red Wings Snapshots - MLive.com
The Dallas News's Chuck Carlton notes that scoring the first goal, which has led to wins for every team that's won thus far in the Wings-Stars series, is HUGE: May 19, Dallas News : Detroit coach Mike Babcock this morning made a strong case for why the lead has been so pivotal in this series. When the Stars have scored first, they've been able to sick the checking line against the Red Wings best players and slow them down. Only Brenden Morrow logged more minutes among Dallas forwards than unlikely playoff hero Toby Petersen. The dynamic changes if Detroit has the lead, as ...