WESTERN SEMI-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 5:
#2 DALLAS STARS vs #8 SAN JOSE SHARKS
Dallas leads 3-1
Game time: Sunday May 7th, 2000 7:30pm at Dallas
The Dallas Stars look to finish off the scrappy San Jose Sharks and advance to the Western Conference Finals with a victory tonight at home in Game Five of their semifinal series.
The Sharks were driven to the brink of playoff elimination with a 5-4 loss Friday to the Stars, who got a pair of second-period goals from Joe Nieuwendyk. Dallas is seeking its third straight appearance in the Western finals.
Goaltender Ed Belfour took consecutive minor penalties 37 seconds apart in the third period, but held the fort, making 11 of his 31 saves in the final 20 minutes.
Since posting back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the series played here, the former San Jose netminder allowed four goals on 24 shots in the first two periods of Game Four.
Mike Modano had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to a playoff career-high eight games for Dallas. He has five goals and five assists during the run.
San Jose has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs during its brief history. The Sharks were eliminated in 1994 by Toronto in seven games and Detroit bested them in four straight the next season.
Owen Nolan scored the Sharks' second shorthanded goal of the postseason in the second period, but San Jose surrendered its first two shorthanded tallies of the playoffs. Nolan, who is playing with multiple injuries that had him sidelined in Game Two, is tied with Jaromir Jagr for the league lead with eight postseason goals.
#3 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #4 DETROIT RED WINGS
Colorado leads 3-1
Game time: Friday May 5th, 2000 8pm at Colorado
The Colorado Avalanche can advance to their fourth Western Conference final in five years tonight when they host the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of their semifinal series. Chris Drury scored 10:21 into overtime and Colorado grabbed a commanding three games to one lead in the series with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Detroit on Wednesday.
Last year, Drury tied a rookie record with four game-winners in the postseason. On Wednesday, he got his first of this year's playoffs to give the Avalanche their seventh win in the last eight playoff games with the Red Wings.
"It was a huge game, and we lost it. Now we're in deep trouble," Detroit center Igor Larionov said. "So we've got to think about it, forget about Game Four, go into Denver and try to win Game Five. There's no secret. We have to win one game in Denver. After that, we'll see what happens."
All-Star defenseman Ray Bourque sat out with a knee and foot injury, and will not play tonight. Brought to Colorado after 21 years with the Boston Bruins, Bourque is a five-time Norris Trophy winner as the league's best defenseman but never has won the Stanley Cup.
Dave Andreychuk, who was acquired with Bourque from Boston on March 6, scored off a scramble with 4:27 left in regulation to tie the game at 2-2.
Colorado has gone to the conference finals in three of the last four years, defeating Detroit during its Cup-winning season of 1996 before losing to the Red Wings the following year and Dallas last season.
Detroit has trailed 3-1 in three previous playoff series but has rallied to win two of them. It defeated the Minnesota North Stars in the 1992 Norris Division semifinals and Toronto in the 1987 Norris Division finals after losing to the Maple Leafs in the 1945 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Red Wings have scored just six goals in the series and 10 of their 21 playoff tallies have come on the power play.