WESTERN SEMI-FINALS
GAME SUMMARIES
GAME 1:
#2 DALLAS STARS vs #8 SAN JOSE SHARKS
Dallas leads 1-0
Next Game: Sunday April 30th, 2000 7:30pm at Dallas
The return of Sergei Zubov was exactly what the Dallas Stars needed to lift their sagging power play. With Zubov again anchoring the unit after a month-long absence because of a knee injury, Dallas scored twice in its first three chances with a man advantage to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-0 in the opener of their second-round series Friday night.
The Stars went 2-for-26 on the power play without Zubov in their first-round series against Edmonton. They went 2-for-7 in this game with him assisting on goals by Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk.
"When he's able to start with the puck, it opens things up for everyone," Modano said. "He really dictates the speed of the game."
Dallas had a six-day layoff while San Jose was coming off a Game 7 victory over top-seeded St. Louis on Wednesday. The emotional release and added physical toll caught up to the Sharks more than rust may have affected the Stars.
San Jose took just four shots in the first period and failed to get off any on its first three power plays. Steve Shields allowed goals on two of Dallas' first six shots, then gave up two more goals in a 1:55 span early in the third period.
"This was our worst performance of the playoffs," San Jose center Vincent Damphousse said.
Shields, who was superb in Game 7 against the Blues, said the slow start derailed the Sharks.
"We got into a hole early and didn't feel like we were into the game much," he said. "I may have been a little jumpy and excited early. I didn't feel comfortable at the start and it showed." Stars goaltender Ed Belfour stopped 18 shots overall for his ninth career postseason shutout and second of these playoffs. Dallas is 4-0 at Reunion Arena, which will be the site of Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
Although the Stars played solid offense and defense and were great on specialty teams, captain Derian Hatcher wasn't impressed.
"I know we can go up a notch," said Hatcher, who benefited from Zubov's return by playing 3:25 less than he averaged against Edmonton.
Dallas led 1-0 after one shot when Aaron Gavey slid the puck under Shields just 5:45 into the game. They made it 2-0 later in the period on Modano's first goal, which came while former Star Todd Harvey was in the penalty box for high-sticking.
Zubov fed Brett Hull, who passed it back to Zubov. He skated in for a backhanded shot that caromed off Shields and right to Modano, who was wide open in front of the net. He swatted it in for his third goal this postseason and the 35th of his playoff career, tying Steve Payne's franchise record. "It popped out and I had a lot of time," said Modano, who has a point in five straight games.
Nieuwendyk made it 3-0 early in the third period when he fired a backhanded shot past Shields on a tough angle. It was the 10th power-play goal allowed by the Sharks in eight playoff games.
Brenden Morrow got the fourth goal by getting a piece of a slap shot by Derian Hatcher. Shields had a bead on the puck, but he didn't get enough of it.
Belfour had a relatively easy night. He held off some odd-man rushes in the second period and his penalty-killing unit prevented him from seeing many shots when San Jose had the man advantage. His best save was a sliding stop of hard-charging Owen Nolan in the third period. Nolan, who had five regular-season goals against Dallas and was tied for the playoff lead with six goals, spent more time getting up from hard hits than pressuring Belfour.
"They were keying on Owen, no question," Damphousee said. "That was expected. So we have to bump some of their players."
San Jose went 0-for-6 on the power play after going 6-for-35 in the first round.
"We've got to get better on the power play," Sharks forward Mike Ricci said. "Special teams will be very big in his series."
They were for Dallas in Game 1.
#3 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #4 DETROIT RED WINGS
Colorado leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 29th, 2000 3pm at Colorado
Behind his back, people were whispering that big-game goalie Patrick Roy had lost his edge the past two seasons and was no longer dominant.
Roy put a stop to that talk, at least temporarily, on Thursday night.
Roy posted his 13th career playoff shutout, and Peter Forsberg and Sandis Ozolinsh scored as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 in the opening game of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Roy, tied for third in NHL history in playoff shutouts, extended his playoff record for victories to 115. He had 25 saves, while Detroit's Chris Osgood had 24.
Game 2 is Saturday in Denver.
Roy, who insists he isn't a shutout goalie, said it was "important to be ready off the start and try to make a couple of saves. That's what happened.
"After that, the guys really played well," he said. "Tonight, I was really focused and was moving extremely well in my net. I'm very pleased the way things are going for me so far in the playoffs."
Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said Roy "gave us some big saves right from the start."
"That's the strength of Patrick," Hartley said. "He kept us in the game, then we gave him a two-goal cushion and he worked from there."
Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque, acquired from Boston on March 6, was fully aware of Roy's reputation.
"The bigger the game, the bigger he is," Bourque said. "He made some unbelievable saves in the first half of the first period when we didn't come out as sharp as we'd like. He was on top of his game right off the bat. That really lifts the team."
Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman also was impressed by Roy and Colorado's defense.
"Their defense didn't give us many chances," Bowman said. "I don't think we had more than seven with a few minutes to go. We had three chances in the first period, and not many after that."
Detroit's Darren McCarty agreed.
"We had a few chances, but not enough," he said. "They shut down our power play. They outplayed us, and Patrick made the plays.
"This was only Game 1. Now we have to get a split here and put this behind us."
Forsberg scored the only goal of the first period on a deflection at 10:13.
Forsberg stormed down the left side with the puck, and his shot was lost in traffic in front of the net. Red Wings defenseman Steve Duchesne attempted an awkward clearing pass which went directly to Adam Deadmarsh at the right point. Deadmarsh's slap shot was deflected by Forsberg past Osgood.
Detroit, the top scoring team in the NHL during the regular season, outshot Colorado 10-7 in the period.
The Red Wings missed two scoring opportunities early in the second period. Roy lost his balance after chasing the puck behind the net, and Kris Draper's shot at an open net deflected off defenseman Jon Klemm's stick.
Defenseman Aaron Miller later made a stick save to stop Duchesne on a power play.
After Martin Lapointe went to the penalty box for roughing, Ozolinsh scored on a power play at 11:39 to make it 2-0.
Ozolinsh's shot, past Sergei Fedorov from the left point, ended Detroit's string of 25 straight penalty kills in the playoffs.
It was Ozolinsh's fourth goal of the playoffs and his eighth point in six games.
Midway through the third, Osgood stopped Forsberg on a 2-on-1 breakaway.
Since moving to Colorado from Quebec in 1995, the Avalanche have never lost a second-round playoff series, going 3-0 including a second-round ousting of Detroit last year.
Both teams entered the second round well-rested and playing their best hockey. Detroit swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and Colorado eliminated Phoenix 4-1, going 12-1-0 in their previous 13 games.