Zubov makes Stars' offense go

Dallas Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov returned to the lineup on Sunday night for the first time since January 27. Zubie missed the Stars' final 33 games of the regular season and first 7 games of the postseason with a sports hernia injury related to surgery he had at the end of the 2006-07 season as well as a foot injury. While Dallas was able to prevail over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks in the 1st round of the Western Conference playoffs in 6 games, there is no denying the importance of Zubov. Zubie is and has been regarded as one of the NHL's top offensive defenseman for his entire 15-year career. He is a unique player in his ability to quarterback the powerplay and has a knack of making creative passes. Zubov always has his head up as he looks to make that "homerun" pass that can lead to a breakaway. On Sunday night in San Jose, Zubov decided to give it a go after he felt good in pre-game warm ups and almost immediately, Zubie's impact was felt. With the score tied 3-3 late in the 2nd period, Zubov took the puck, spun around and put a nifty backhand pass right on the tape to Mike Modano who scored past San Jose netminder Evgeni Nabokov. Dallas added two goals in the 3rd period to secure a 5-2 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. Last night's Game 3 provided another opportunity for Zubov to make his presence felt as he tied the game early in the 2nd period with a power play goal. Zubov is a 4-time All-Star, who was selected to play in this year's All-Star game, but didn't play due to injury. He began the year as an early candidate for the Norris Trophy for Best Defenseman and ranked among the top three in defensemen scoring for virtually the entire first half of the season. Though the Norris Trophy might be out of his grasp this year due to injuries, Zubie still remains a key component of the Dallas Stars' attack.