STANLEY CUP FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 4:
#4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs # 2 DALLAS STARS DEVILS
New Jersey leads 2-1
Game time: Monday June 5th, 2000 8pm at Dallas
The New Jersey Devils hope to continue their road dominance in the playoffs while taking a commanding three games to one lead in the Stanley Cup finals tonight when they visit the Dallas Stars in Game 4. New Jersey improved to 8-2 in road playoff games while handing Dallas its second loss in 11 home postseason contests with Saturday's 2-1 victory. The Devils went 10-1 during their Stanley Cup championship run of 1995, the best such mark in NHL history.
Jason Arnott, Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias produced the Devils, who regained home-ice advantage with the victory.
Arnott scored late in the first period and set up Sykora's game-winner on the power play in the second as New Jersey's top line helped produce its second win of the series. The effort came four nights after Arnott, Sykora and Elias combined for 11 points but two nights after coach Larry Robinson nearly broke up the unit during a poor effort in Game 2.
Arnott has 19 points in the postseason, only two points behind Stephane Richer's club record of 21 set during New Jersey's in 1995. He is tied with Neal Broten, who collected 19 in 1995 and has his No. 7 jersey retired by the Stars. Sykora has three goals and two assists in the series and leads the Devils with nine playoff goals.
Sylvain Cote, acquired from Chicago during the season, scored the Stars' lone goal but his retaliatory elbow at Devils rookie John Madden resulted in the winning goal.
Dallas' top line of All-Stars Mike Modano and Brett Hull, who had a part in both of the goals in their Game Two triumph, was a non-factor on Saturday, collecting only six shots.
New Jersey also dropped Dallas to 11-2 when scoring first in the postseason. The team winning Game Three after splitting the first two has gone on to capture the Stanley Cup 18 of 21 times.
But taking a 3-1 lead in the series will not be an easy task. Following losses in the playoffs this season, the defending champion Stars are 6-0. Included in that mark was a win in Game Two on Thursday that followed an embarrassing 7-3 defeat in the opener.
Dallas' Jamie Langenbrunner, suffering from a knee injury, could come back for tonight's game. While his status will not be determined until today, coach Ken Hitchcock said he is "leaning towards" playing the 24-year-old right wing.