Dallas avoids elimination, 2-1

DETROIT -- Marty Turco picked the perfect time for his first NHL victory at Joe Louis Arena.

Turco made 38 saves Saturday to lift the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5, extending the Western Conference finals.

“It’s probably the best I’ve felt in this building ever,” he said.

Trevor Daley scored in the first period and Joel Lundqvist had a go-ahead goal in the second to help the Stars pull to within 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.

Game 6 is Monday night in Dallas. If necessary, the final game will be Wednesday night in Detroit.

Turco had been 0-9-2 as a pro at Joe Louis Arena after starring in college at Michigan. While in goal for the Wolverines, he was 18-5 in the arena.

Turco seemed to build confidence after turning away Dan Cleary’s shot about a minute into the game.

“It was Marty’s night,” Daley said. “He was a special player and basically won that game for us.”

Detroit’s Jiri Hudler scored late in the first period, but that was the only shot the NHL’s top-seeded team got past Turco in its 27 shots through two periods.

“We had lots of shots on net and we missed the net 19 more times,” Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock said. “And we had three quality chances that we didn’t even get a shot on net.”

The Stars have a shot at making history as the third team to win an NHL playoff series after trailing 3-0. The New York Islanders did it 33 years ago -- 33 years after the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the feat.

“If you told us we’d be up 3-2 going back to Dallas before we started playing, we’d probably take it,” Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood said.