WESTERN FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 5:
#2 DALLAS STARS vs #4 COLORADO AVALANCHE
Series tied 2-2
Game time: Tuesday May 23rd, 2000 7pm at Dallas
The Dallas Stars hope for another stellar effort from Ed Belfour when they host the Colorado Avalanche in the pivotal fifth game of the Western Conference finals. Belfour recorded his second straight 38-save effort and Brett Hull had two goals and an assist as the Stars evened the series at two wins apiece with a 4-1 victory over the Avalanche on Sunday.
Belfour turned aside 31 shots over the first two periods on Sunday, including a sliding stop on Chris Drury off a 2-on-1 break in the second period. He has rebounded from his last seven losses with a win.
One game after setting a franchise playoff record with 20 shots in the second period, the Avalanche broke it with 21 in the second on Sunday. Dave Reid scored Colorado's lone goal, ending a 24-game playoff scoring drought. Mike Modano had three assists for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who had only 15 shots but scored on four of their first 10 against Patrick Roy. Dallas regained home-ice advantage by handing Colorado its first loss at the Pepsi Center in eight playoff games.
Hull's first goal of the game was his 83rd career playoff tally, moving him past Maurice "The Rocket" Richard into sixth place on the all-time list.
Hull, Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk combined for only three shots in a 2-0 loss on Friday as Roy recorded his second shutout of the series. But the trio accounted for seven points on Sunday.
Colorado had killed off 11 of 12 power plays in this series before Nieuwendyk scored in the first period. The Avalanche's streak of scoring a power-play goal ended at four games with an 0-for-4 performance, including a 64-second two-man advantage.
Both teams got injured players back. Defenseman Adam Foote was in the lineup for Colorado after missing Game 3 with an eye injury. Rookie Brenden Morrow made a surprise return for Dallas after he was expected to miss the rest of the playoffs with an ankle injury.
Game 6 is Thursday in Denver.