If the Vancouver Canucks plan to ride the wave of towel power that engulfed GM Place Wednesday night, they are going to have to come up with a game-plan to counteract the tenacious fore-check applied by the Dallas Stars throughout Game 1. Despite earning the victory and the 1-0 series lead, the Canucks have a great deal of work to do before they can make any plans for Round 2, even if Roberto Luongo continues to prove he is arguably the game's best goalkeeper. There were many points during the marathon match-up that Vancouver seemed lost and uninterested, unable to move the puck out of their own end.

To really look at this game, the first two periods almost have to be ignored. Both goaltenders looked as if they were fighting the puck. Question either Marty Turco or Luongo if they would like to have one or two of the shots that squeaked by them back, and there is no doubt what their answer would be. For two goalies that have consistently played spectacular during the regular season, both came into the ‘second season’ with substantial questions about their ability to perform on the big stage. Furthermore, neither team seemed to find their offense consistently or manage to control the play for an extended period of time.

Just when it looked as if Vancouver had grabbed a hold of the game with a 4-2 lead, Dallas stormed back with two quick markers capped by a soft goal that beat Luongo to his stick-side. However, the key to the third period can be found in the shots on goal, Dallas with 16 and Vancouver with 3. The first overtime period was much of the same; Dallas controlled the play, gave Vancouver fits in their own end as they tried over and over to clear the puck out of their own end with little success. To make matters worse, aside from an early Daniel Sedin goal, the twins had been marginalized all game and were virtually ineffective in the offensive zone. If not for Luongo, the game most likely would have ended on the five-on-three advantage the Stars had at the midpoint of period four.

That two-man advantage was the proverbial turning point for the Canucks; the whistles were put away and it gave the home squad the confidence it needed to build some momentum to carry into the next period. More importantly, Roberto Luongo had settled down and reverted back to the Hart candidate who had led the Canucks to a division title. It took nearly another full period for his teammates to catch up, but by the time the third overtime had begun, the Canucks were controlling the play until the ice finally cracked late in the fourth period when Henrik Sedin ended the two day contest.

Despite the loss, the Stars battled back from two down to take the Canucks to the absolute brink. The Canucks had no answer for their fore-check and Marty Turco played like a franchise netminder should. Dallas received efforts from all four lines while Vancouver finished with only three lines as Ryan Kesler, Matt Cooke and Alexander Burrows all suffered injuries. However, Markus Naslund looked like his old self and Trevor Linden had great jump. If the Canucks can formulate a proper breakout, they should be able to end this series before Dallas gets two wins on the board. However, they cannot depend on Luongo to make 70 plus saves game in game out to advance through the playoffs and ‘Towel Power’ can only take them so far.