WESTERN SEMI-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 3:
#2 DALLAS STARS vs #8 SAN JOSE SHARKS
Dallas leads 2-0
Game time: Tuesday May 2nd, 2000 10pm at San Jose
Maybe the San Jose Sharks can finally score a goal when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars on Tuesday night in Game 3 of their Western Conference Semifinal series. Former Shark Ed Belfour stopped 19 shots for his second straight shutout and Mike Modano scored the game's only goal in the first period as Dallas opened a two games to none lead in the series with a 1-0 victory over San Jose on Sunday.
It has been 145:36 since San Jose scored a goal. If Belfour shuts out San Jose in Game 3, it would be the first time since 1945 that a goalie had three consecutive playoff shutouts. Toronto's Frank McCool was the last goalie to do it.
The Sharks stunned top-seeded St. Louis in the first round but have been unable to solve Belfour and must win four of the next five games to move to the conference finals. "Game 3 is very pivotal," Sharks center Mike Ricci said. "We have to come out and play our best game, and that's the bottom line."
However, San Jose may again be without captain and leading scorer Owen Nolan, who has been hobbled by foot and shoulder injuries.
Belfour can expect a rude reception from the San Jose fans since he spurned the Sharks to sign a free agent deal with Dallas back in 1997.
"I think every time I've come back there, they've been hard on me," Belfour said. "It's satisfying when you have good games in buildings where the fans are on you."
Belfour was hardly tested over the first two periods but made nine of his saves in the third as the Stars held an opponent to fewer than 20 shots for the fifth time in seven playoff contests on Sunday. He made 18 saves in Dallas' 4-0 win in the series opener on Friday.
In becoming the first goaltender in two years to record consecutive playoff shutouts, Belfour extended his scoreless streak to 138 minutes, 53 seconds. Washington's Olaf Kolzig was the last netminder to post back-to-back postseason shutouts, blanking Ottawa in the final two games of the 1998 Eastern Conference semifinals.
San Jose's Vincent Damphousse has gone 11 games since his last postseason goal. The Sharks are 0-for-9 on the power play in the series and 6-for-44 in the playoffs.
Modano has 36 career playoff goals, giving him sole possession of the all-time franchise lead. He also has four goals and three assists during a six-game points streak that equals the longest of his playoff career.
#3 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #4 DETROIT RED WINGS
Colorado leads 2-0
Game time: Monday May 1st, 2000 7pm at Detroit
The Colorado Avalanche look to take a commanding three games to none lead over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night when the teams meet in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Colorado is in the exact opposite position this season than it was in 1999 against Detroit. Last year, the Avalanche lost the first two games at home and then won four straight to close out the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Now they head into Joe Louis Arena with a 2-0 lead in the series after a 3-1 win on Saturday.
Colorado won Game 2 thanks to its power-play unit. Milan Hejduk scored his second playoff goal 8:12 into the game with Detroit defenseman Steve Duchesne serving a double-minor for high-sticking. Peter Forsberg scored for the third straight game on 4-on-3 advantage later in the period.
The Avalanche penalty killing has been just as strong, holding the Red Wings scoreless in five opportunities on Saturday and nine in the series. The Red Wings' only goal on Saturday and the series came on a fluke play when Tomas Holmstrom batted in a loose puck into a vacant net after Chris Chelios' dump-in hit off the end boards.
Other than that, Colorado once again used a stifling defense to stop Detroit's high-flying offense, which had cruised to a four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the opening round.
Colorado netminder Patrick Roy narrowly missed handing Detroit a second straight playoff shutout for the first time in 55 years, but easily was good enough to give the Avalanche a home sweep of the opening two games. He also backstopped a 2-0 win in Thursday's opener.
Roy's counterpart, Chris Osgood, had his strong play carry over into the second round, stopping 54 of 58 shots in the series, but has not gotten the offensive support.
The Avalanche, winners of 14 of their last 15 games, are looking to go 3-0 in a conference semifinal series for the first time in franchise history.