WESTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME SUMMARIES
GAME 1:
#1 ST. LOUIS BLUES vs #8 SAN JOSE SHARKS
St. Louis leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 15th, 2000 2pm at St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues didn't miss leading scorer Pavol Demitra a bit in their playoff opener, making up for his absence with youthful energy. The Blues got two goals and an assist from third-line winger Jochen Hecht, a 13-goal scorer in the regular season, in Wednesday night's 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Hecht is a 22-year-old rookie. Fellow rookies Lubos Bartecko and Marty Reasoner, both 23, each scored his first career goal. All three said nerves were not a factor.
"It's still hockey," said Hecht, who had two goals in five playoff games last season. "Nothing changes. You just have more body contact in the playoffs."
Demitra, who had 28 goals and 75 points in the regular season, sustained a concussion March 23 and isn't expected back at least until the second round. The Blues also were without 24-goal scorer Scott Young, who has a dislocated right shoulder, but is expected back Saturday for Game 2 of the best-of-7 Western Conference series.
The NHL's top-seeded team has plugged various players into coach Joel Quenneville's system all season.
"We got some production from some guys who you might have wondered how they'd respond," Quenneville said. "Many nights somebody responded. We did what we had to do."
Hecht, 22, scoffed at the notion he was now Mr. Playoffs.
"I wouldn't say that," Hecht said. "They just started and you have to go game to game. But I think my experience last year helped."
Goalie Roman Turek overcame a shaky beginning to his first playoff start for the Blues, who had a franchise-record 114 points in the regular season. Hecht snapped a 2-2 tie with the only goal of the second period and Chris Pronger added a third-period power-play goal for St. Louis.
The Blues were 4-0-1 in the regular season against the Sharks, who had a franchise-record 87 points but a sub-.500 record.
Two unlikely sources of offense, Dave Lowry and Mike Rathje, scored for the eighth-seeded Sharks. Lowry, who scored on a wrist shot at the 46-second mark of the first period, had one goal in the regular season. Rathje had two.
Owen Nolan, who had 44 goals, scored with San Jose shorthanded with 5:20 to go, making it 5-3.
The Sharks were without second-leading scorer Jeff Friesen, who was ill with flu-like symptoms, possibly food poisoning. Friesen had 26 goals and 61 points in the regular season.
"I just know he's really sick for something that sudden," coach Darryl Sutter said. "I don't know if it was food poisoning because everybody ate together. Hey, we missed him."
Before the game, Friesen was on intravenous fluids.
Turek, who saw no action in the playoffs as the backup to Ed Belfour with the Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars last season, gave up a goal on the first shot he saw as Lowry found himself alone in the slot. Turek is 7-0-1 for his career in the regular season against the Sharks and allowed only two more goals on the last 30 shots he faced.
"It's not the first time it happened this season," Turek said. "It's good for me. Right after the goal I said it's OK, just keep focused on the next play."
Sharks goalie Steve Shields took the blame for the loss.
"Whenever you allow five goals you've got to look at your performance," Shields said. "I don't think I played great. The first part of the game I was probably real nervous."
Hecht was one of 12 players on a deep roster to score 10 or more goals, finishing with 34 points in 63 games. He put the Blues ahead to stay at 3-2 on a rebound shot at 2:29 of the second.
Pronger made it a two-goal gap at 3:45 when he knocked in a rebound from mid-air on a power play before Shields could glove the puck. Reasoner made it 5-2 on a backhander at 8:49, just a few seconds after Shields thwarted Hecht's bid for a hat trick from the slot.
After Lowry set the tone for the high-scoring first period, the Blues took the lead on a backhander by Hecht at 5:41 and a rebound shot by Bartecko 1:54 later.
The Sharks, after going about 13 minutes without a shot, tied it when Rathje's shot from the right circle deflected off two players before eluding Turek at 18:18.
#2 DALLAS STARS vs #7 EDMONTON OILERS
Dallas leads 1-0
Next Game: Thursday April 13th, 2000 9pm at Dallas
The Dallas Stars are trying to defend their Stanley Cup with the same boring style that won it. The only difference is they now have a few new faces playing it. Roman Lyashenko, a 20-year-old rookie forward who earned his keep by playing the defense-first system coach Ken Hitchcock demands, swatted in an errant pass with 8:29 left to give Dallas a 2-1 victory over Edmonton in the playoff opener Wednesday night. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Thursday night at Dallas.
The Stars wore out the Oilers by outhitting them 68-52 and outshooting them 32-14. It was Dallas' eighth straight playoff victory over Edmonton and 10th in a row at Reunion Arena.
Although the formula is similar to 1999, the roster isn't. Eight players have been added since last year's championship and Lyashenko, who played only 58 regular-season games, is the least-experienced newcomer.
But Hitchcock was confident the native of Murmansk, Russia, understood what was at stake in the playoffs because he'd fought for championships in his native country.
"Going back to the league championship in Russia, he's been a big-game player. That's why I wanted him out there," Hitchcock said. "Lyashenko is a competitor. He's an excellent defensive player whose offensive skills have improved as the season has gone along."
His previous NHL highlight was scoring two goals within 10 seconds Jan. 23 in Chicago. He only had four others in the regular season.
This one was sort of a gift. Edmonton's Tommy Salo made a great stick save and the puck trickled to defenseman Igor Ulanov. He tried clearing it, but instead put it right on Lyashenko's blade. All he had to do was flip it over the sprawled-out Salo.
"My teammates worked hard for that goal," said Lyashenko, who was limited to that one shot in 7:24 over 11 shifts. "I just put my stick on the ice and shot it into the net."
Since the Oilers eliminated the Stars from the 1997 playoffs, Dallas holds an 18-2-1 advantage. The Stars' last eight victories have been by one goal; five of them 2-1, including three this season.
Edmonton will try breaking the spell in Game 2.
"It's been tough for me," said Salo, who fell to 0-5 in the playoffs -- all against Dallas -- despite stopping 30 shots. "Sometime, someday, it's going to turn around. If we get a win, it'll put pressure on them and it'll be a different ballgame."
The Stars held the Oilers without a shot for the first 15:50 of the second period and took the lead on a goal by Mike Keane at the 12:32 mark.
Keane slid the puck between the legs of Jason Smith, who had just turned it over near Edmonton's blue line, then flipped it over Salo's left shoulder.
Dallas appeared to have scored again when Jamie Langenbrunner poked in a rebound of a shot by Brenden Morrow later in the period, but it was waved off because Scott Thornton was caught holding during Morrow's shot.
"I was happy with the first period, but very unhappy with the second," Oilers coach Kevin Lowe said. "It was a case of no execution and poor puck movement. It was the worst game we've played against Dallas in a long time."
Edmonton tied it seven minutes into the final period when German Titov stole a clearing pass from Darryl Sydor and fired it past Stars goalie Ed Belfour. It was the first playoff goal against Belfour in 123:30, a streak that began with the Cup-clinching triple-overtime victory against Buffalo last year.
"It was a bad read by me, throwing it up the middle," said Sydor, who also shielded Belfour on the shot. "I've got to keep it to the outside and avoid the mental mistakes."
The goal by Titov was his first for the Oilers since being acquired at the trading deadline from Pittsburgh.
The Stars played without two-time Selke Trophy winner Jere Lehtinen. He played just his 17th game of the regular season Sunday, but his sore ankle forced him to be a late scratch. He could play Thursday.
"His ankle is in a position where when he plays we can't tell until two or three days," Hitchcock said. "It would be easier if we could tell the next morning. We just have to see how he is."
Edmonton lost second-line left winger Ethan Moreau in the second period with a deep thigh bruise. He's questionable for Game 2.
#3 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #6 PHOENIX COYOTES
Colorado leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 15th, 2000 2pm at Colorado
Even without Peter Forsberg, the Colorado Avalanche had plenty of scoring punch to handle the Phoenix Coyotes. Sandis Ozolinsh, who failed to score a goal in the final 20 games of the regular season, scored twice Thursday night as the Avalanche beat the Coyotes 6-3 in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Shjon Podein added two goals for the Avalanche, who shrugged off the absence of injured star Forsberg to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 2 is Saturday in Denver.
"When you want to go the distance in the playoffs, you've got to have everybody chipping in," Podein said. "I thought we did a good job with everybody coming up to the plate and playing a hard game."
The sixth-seeded Coyotes got off to a horrible start as they attempt to advance past the first round for the first time in 13 years. Colorado led 4-0 after one period and Phoenix got no closer than two goals the rest of the way.
"The first period wasn't the start we wanted," goalie Sean Burke said. "We just weren't good enough. I wasn't good enough. You can't give up four goals in the first period and expect to beat a team like that."
The Coyotes made things interesting as Travis Green and Shane Doan scored less than three minutes apart early in the second, but Alex Tanguay put home a rebound to put the Avalanche up 5-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.
"I didn't think it was as bad as the score indicated," Phoenix coach Bob Francis said. "When you make a mistake against a quality opponent, it is going to end up in your net. The moral of the story is to eliminate your mistakes."
With Colorado playing conservative, Phoenix again pulled within two when Teppo Numminem corralled a loose puck in front of the net and beat Patrick Roy with 11:42 left.
Podein put the game out of reach four minutes later, scoring on a long shot that went through Burke's legs. Ray Bourque, trying to win his first Stanley Cup in 21 seasons, got his second assist of the game to move into a tie for fourth on the NHL's career postseason list.
"That sixth goal was huge for us to keep it a three-goal cushion," Bourque said. "If they get the next one, we're in trouble. It's a long way from being over. It's going to be a battle the whole way. We've got one win under our belts, but we know it's going to get tougher as we go on."
After winning their final eight games of the regular season, Colorado carried the momentum into the opening period as Podein scored at 4:23 to ignite the Avalanche offense.
Dave Andreychuk, who came to Colorado in a March 6 trade with Bourque, converted a give-and-go with Chris Drury on a power play at 8:10, and Ozolinsh added another power-play goal six minutes later.
It was Ozolinsh's first goal since Feb. 22, and he got his second at 18:14 as he hit a slap shot from the top of the left circle that sailed over Burke's right arm.
The added scoring punch from Ozolinsh helped absorb the loss of Forsberg, who is out indefinitely while he recovers from a separated right shoulder.
"He scored big goals for us, and he played a very solid game," Roy said. "Not just because he scored points, but the way he played all around. That's what we need from Ozo."
Neither goalie was particularly sharp. Roy stopped 12 shots to win his NHL-record 111th playoff game, and Burke had 32 saves in his first postseason game since 1998.
Burke didn't get much help from Phoenix's top scoring line of Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and Mikael Renberg. The trio combined for one shot.
"They covered us pretty well, especially myself and Keith," said Roenick, who led the Coyotes with 34 goals and 44 assists. "They handled us pretty well tonight and didn't give us much room.
"... One game doesn't make a series."
#4 DETROIT RED WINGS vs #5 LOS ANGELES
Detroit leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 15th, 2000 2pm at Detroit
Chris Osgood looked like a goalie looking for another Stanley Cup title. Osgood, who helped Detroit win its second straight championship in 1998, earned his seventh career playoff shutout as the Red Wings beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Thursday night in the opener of their Western Conference series. "When the defense clears rebounds, and keeps bodies away from the front of the net, it makes my life a whole lot easier," Osgood said. "I'm not scrambling around looking for the puck when the defense and I are working this well together."
Vyacheslav Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov scored for Detroit.
Osgood, who had six shutouts this season, made 19 saves. But none perhaps any bigger than the stop he made on Luc Robitaille's shot from the slot at 6:40 of the third period.
"They always look for the guy high in the slot, so I was watching him," Osgood said. "We had the front cleared out, so I saw the shot all the way and made the save."
"We got a hot goalie tonight," said Robitaille, who scored 36 goals this season. "You've got to be patient. You've got to wait your chances with those guys."
Kozlov, who scored 18 goals during the regular season, scored at 1:43 of the second period on a shot that hit Los Angeles defenseman Jere Karalahti in the back and caromed into the net past goalie Stephane Fiset.
Fedorov, who had 27 goals this season, scored into an empty net with 12.8 seconds remaining.
"That was basically a one-goal game," said Kings forward Bryan Smolinski, playing with a brace on the injured right knee that had kept him out of action since April 3. "I don't think any momentum shifted tonight."
Fiset, who faced 31 shots, was pulled with 1:23 remaining, but returned with 59.2 seconds left for a faceoff near the red line. He reached the bench again with 41.2 seconds remaining.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 first-round series will be played Saturday at Joe Louis Arena. Action then shifts to Los Angeles for games Monday and Wednesday.
"We can play better," Kings defenseman Rob Blake said. "We've got to get a little more traffic around Osgood. You know, in the playoffs, they're not all going to be pretty goals."
Steve Yzerman, who was expected to return from a mild knee sprain that kept him out of the final four regular-season games, instead sat out with a bout of the flu. Yzerman, the Red Wings captain, was the team's leading scorer this season with 39 goals and 44 assists for 79 points -- one more than Brendan Shanahan.
As the game unfolded, however, it looked like Yzerman was perhaps better off watching instead of playing. The contest turned into a hard-hitting affair that left bodies strewn all over the ice.
Detroit forward Darren McCarty, who missed about a third of the season because of a contract holdout and an injury that required surgery, delivered perhaps the Red Wings' hardest check of the season when he slammed Garry Galley into the boards behind the Kings' net at 2:10 of the first period.
The Kings got some payback at 7:03 when Blake's hipcheck left Detroit forward Tomas Holmstrom face down on the ice for about a minute. Holmstrom finally skated off with the aid of a trainer.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings -- gunning for their third Stanley Cup title in four years -- were skating with an intensity almost never seen during the regular season. Detroit outshot the Kings 12-4 during the period, including three quality shots that Fiset -- who was 2-0-1 against the Red Wings during the season -- was able to turn away during the Red Wings' first power play.
"It felt really good out there," Fedorov said. "I thought we were feeling the pulse of the game, and when you do that, you are able to make a lot of plays. It's a nice feeling."
Except for Kozlov's fluke goal, the game might have remained scoreless through the second period because Fiset and Osgood were both brilliant at times. Osgood made a clutch save to rob Smolinski who snapped off a shot from between the circles at 6:50 of the second after Fedorov had misplayed the puck.
Fiset came up big again during a Detroit power play in the third, managing somehow to get the handle of his stick on the puck inches from the goal line after a shot by Shanahan at 8:52.
With 5:11 remaining, Fiset held off Brent Gilchrist who skated in alone on a breakaway.
"You get no chance to relax out there," Fiset said.
Just before a faceoff with 2:11 remaining, an octopus was tossed onto the ice from the stands, an old symbol of Detroit playoff success from the days when the NHL was a six-team league.
The Red Wings went 48-24-10 during the regular season, finishing with 108 points. Yet one of the teams that gave Detroit a lot of trouble was the Kings. Los Angeles finished with a 39-31-12 record and 94 points, fourth-best in franchise history and 20 points better than in 1999. And the Kings were 2-2-1 against Detroit.