Thursday April 30 8pm
DALLAS -- The top-seeded Dallas Stars hope the home-ice advantage holds true tonight when they face the pesky San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. Playing at home has been the key in the first four games of this series. The Stars won the first two games at home by a combined 9-3 score, but the Sharks rebounded with two wins at their place, a 4-1 victory on Sunday and a 1-0 overtime triumph on Tuesday.
Rookie Andrei Zyuzin scored 6:31 into overtime as San Jose posted its first-ever home playoff shutout in Game 4.
After allowing nine goals on 51 shots in Games 1 and 2, San Jose's Mike Vernon has looked in the last two contests more like the goalie that won the Conn Smythe Trophy last season, giving up only one goal on 40 shots. San Jose is 3-for-28 on the power play through four games. Bernie Nicholls leads San Jose with four points and Owen Nolan is the only Shark with two goals.
Dallas is 5-for-30 with the man advantage, including a 4-for-15 effort in Game 2. Defenseman Sergei Zubov leads the Stars with four points, while six players are tied with three apiece.
The Stars are hurting without center Joe Nieuwendyk, who suffered a right knee injury in Game 1. Nieuwendyk, who could miss the rest of the playoffs, led Dallas with 69 points during the regular season. Without Nieuwendyk, the Sharks have been able to concentrate on shutting down Mike Modano, who has been held to one goal in the series.
Game 6 is Saturday night in San Jose.
#2 COLORADO AVLANCHE vs #7 EDMONTON OILERS
Thursday April 30 9pm
DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche can end the Edmonton Oilers' dreams of another first-round upset with a win tonight in Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series. Colorado pushed Edmonton to the brink of elimination Tuesday as Peter Forsberg scored two goals and set up Claude Lemieux's game-winner during a 3-1 win in Game 4.
Forsberg has feasted on the Oilers. He has six goals and five assists in the series after collecting five goals and eight assists against Edmonton during the regular season.
Patrick Roy, the all-time winningest goaltender in the playoffs, needs one more win for 100 in his career. He has 56 losses. After allowing three third-period goals in Game 1, Roy has been dominant, stopping 78 of 85 shots faced in the three wins. Edmonton, also a seventh seed in the playoffs last season, upset the heavily-favored Dallas Stars in the first round last year. But the Oilers have looked little like the team that advanced to the Western Conference semifinals a year ago.
Goaltender Curtis Joseph has struggled after posting a win in Game 1. Joseph, who could test free agency this summer, enters play tonight with a 3.42 goals-against average and a save percentage of just .879.
Game 6, if necessary, is scheduled for Saturday night in Edmonton.
#3 DETROIT RED WINGS vs #6 PHOENIX COYOTES
Thursday April 30 7:30pm
DETROIT -- After missing an opportunity Tuesday to take a commanding 3-1 lead against the Red Wings, the Phoenix Coyotes must travel back to Detroit for the pivotal Game 5 tonight without No. 1 goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. Khabibulin suffered a slightly pulled groin in the first period and had to be replaced by Jimmy Waite, who will make his first career playoff start tonight. Khabibulin, who played all but 12 games during the regular season, did not make the trip to Detroit.
Meanwhile, Detroit might be without star left wing Brendan Shanahan, whp is facing a possible suspension after receiving a match penalty for intent to injure Coyotes winger Mike Stapleton on Tuesday. If suspended, Shanahan would miss his third game of the series after sitting out the first two with back spasms.
Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Jamie Macoun scored second-period goals and Chris Osgood bounced back from a shaky outing as the Red Wings defeated the Coyotes 4-2 Tuesday to even the series at two games apiece. Osgood, who had allowed 10 goals in the previous two games, rebounded with a solid 32-save effort.
After going 3-for-14 on the power play in the first two games, Detroit is scoreless on its last 11 opportunities. Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom each have five points to lead Detroit, while Fedorov is the leading goal-scorer with four.
Phoenix is 4-for-22 on the power play though four games. Jeremy Roenick leads Phoenix with seven points, and Rick Tocchet is second with six, including five goals. Tocchet is the only Coyote to record a point in the first four games.
Game 6, originally scheduled for Saturday night in Phoenix, has been rescheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET to accommodate television coverage. Game 7, if necessary, will be played in Detroit Tuesday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
