Watching Dave Tippett, leaning against a hallway wall in StarCenter on Friday with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black warm-up suit, you got the feeling that if he could've handpicked a first-round opponent for his Stars, it wouldn't have been the guys from Colorado they open this spring's playoffs against today. Not because of what happened the last time these teams met in the postseason, when the Avalanche stunned Tippett's club. It has to do with friendship. "It's funny," Tippett said with a little smile. "The phone hasn't rung the last couple of days. I haven't heard from him." Tippett was speaking of Colorado coach Joel Quenneville, his best buddy in the business if not beyond as well. "We'll probably say a quick hello before the game," the Stars coach allowed.