Tuesday April 28 10:30pm
After rebounding from the dead with a victory in Game Three, the San Jose Sharks can pull even with the Dallas Stars tonight in their Western Conference quarterfinal series. The Stars looked unbeatable in posting a 4-1 victory over the Sharks in the series opener and then claimed a 5-2 win in Game Two on Friday. But John MacLean and Owen Nolan scored 67 seconds apart in the second period and Mike Vernon reverted back to last year's form as San Jose came up with its first playoff win in three years, 4-1, Sunday.
Vernon, last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the Detroit Red Wings, surrendered nine goals in the first two games at Dallas. But he had to stop only 12 shots in Game Three, including just one in the third period.
The Sharks went 1-for-12 on the power play in the first two games before going 3-for-13 with the man advantage on Sunday. Nolan, MacLean, Bill Houlder and Mike Ricci each have three points to lead San Jose, but Nolan is the only Shark with two goals.
Dallas was 5-for-24 on the power play in the first two games of the series before going scoreless on five opportunities on Sunday. The Stars have opened the scoring in each of the first three games.
Defenseman Sergei Zubov leads Dallas with four points while Pat Verbeek and Derian Hatcher are the leading goal-scorers with two apiece.
The Stars have been without leading scorer Joe Nieuwendyk for the last two games due to a knee injury, and he is out at least one more week.
Game Five is Thursday in Dallas.
#2 COLORADO AVLANCHE vs #7 EDMONTON OILERS
Tuesday April 28 9pm
After surviving an early scare in the opening game of their Western Conference quarterfinal, the Colorado Avalanche have stormed back and can take a commanding lead with a victory over the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Joe Sakic blasted a slap shot past Curtis Joseph at 15:25 of overtime as Colorado squandered a two-goal lead in the third period before edging Edmonton, 5-4 on Sunday for a two games to one lead in the series. Following a 3-2 loss in Game One, Colorado came back with a 5-2 rout in Game Two.
The trio of Peter Forsberg, Sakic and Valeri Kamensky has powered Colorado so far. Forsberg leads the Avs with four goals and four assists. Sakic has returned from a one-game suspension to record two goals and three assists in just two games and Kamensky has added two goals and two assists.
Goaltender Patrick Roy will go for his 99th career playoff win tonight. He is the all-time leader in that category. Bill Guerin has scored four goals in three games for the Oilers, while defenseman Boris Mironov and center Doug Weight each have two goals and two assists.
Edmonton has killed off just 13 of 18 shorthanded situations and has recorded four power-play goals on 23 chances in the series, which shifts back to Colorado for Game Five on Thursday.
#3 DETROIT RED WINGS vs #6 PHOENIX COYOTES
Tuesday April 28 10:30pm
After scoring three third-period goals in a stunning victory in Game Three, the Phoenix Coyotes look to take a commanding three games to one lead over the Detroit Red Wings tonight in their Western Conference quarterfinal series. The Red Wings looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions in an 8-3 victory in Game One, but the Coyotes reboounded for a 7-4 win in Game Two. Jeremy Roenick scored twice in a three-goal third period as Phoenix rallied for a 3-2 victory on Sunday.
Roenick is tied for second among all playoff scorers with seven points, while Rick Tocchet is second on Phoenix with five, including four goals. Roenick, Tocchet and Cliff Ronning have points in all three games.
The Coyotes were 2-for-6 with the man advantage on Sunday after going 1-for-9 in the first two games. Detroit was 3-for-14 on the power play in the first two games before going 0-for-6 on Sunday. Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman each have four points to lead Detroit. Fedorov has four goals, while Yzerman has four assists.
Chris Osgood, who was very shaky in Sunday's third period, will almost certainly be in goal tonight for the Wings but still has something to prove in the playoffs. He is 12-11 lifetime in the postseason.
Game Five is Thursday in Detroit.
#4 ST. LOUIS BLUES vs #5 L.A. KINGS
Wednesday April 29 10:30pm
The St. Louis Blues can become the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs with a win over the Los Angeles Kings tonight in Game Four of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. The Blues erupted for four goals in a 3:07 span on the same power play in the third period and rallied for a stunning 4-3 victory Monday to take a commanding three games to none lead.
Since setting a team record with a goal and five assists in Game One, Geoff Courtnall has been kept off the scoresheet in the Blues' last two wins. But he was instrumental in Monday's comeback, as his hit on goaltender Jamie Storr prompted a beating delivered by Sean O'Donnell that cost Los Angeles a five-minute major power play.
Pierre Turgeon has picked up three goals and two assists and captain Chris Pronger has tacked on four assists in the series thus far. A win tonight would give St. Louis its second playoff sweep of Los Angeles. The Blues posted a four-game sweep of the Kings in the 1969 West Division final.
In Monday's loss, Ian Laperriere, Yanic Perreault and O'Donnell each scored their first career playoff goals for the Kings, who have dropped seven straight playoff games to St. Louis.
Los Angeles has killed off just 22 of 30 shorthanded situations in the series. The Kings are expected to stay with Storr, who allowed all four goals in Monday's loss. Stephane Fiset, who was the No. 1 goalie in the regular season, was bombed in Game One and has not returned since.
If the Kings can avoid being swept, Game Five of the series would be played Friday in St. Louis. They have lost seven straight playoff games overall since a victory in Game One of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals in Montreal.
