Perhaps more than any other player in the NHL, Dallas Stars center Mike Modano knows how to flip the playoff switch.
People make names for themselves in the playoffs.
If you're going to establish yourself as playoff player, that's a great reputation to have. It's just one of several reputations Modano continues to fortify as the Dallas Stars meet the St. Louis Blues in a Western Conference semifinal series. He's the kind of player capable of strapping his team on his back and hauling it through a bruising series. Modano averaged more than 27 minutes a game, more than any other playoff forward, while picking up the slack left by injured second-line center Joe Nieuwendyk ,who was shelved for three games with a knee injury. Modano's on pace, if the Stars advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, to pile up a third consecutive 20-point postseason.