WESTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 4:
#1 DALLAS STARS vs #8 EDMONTON OILERS
Dallas leads 3-0
Game time: Tuesday April 27th, 1999 9:30pm at Edmonton
As if trying to beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars was not difficult enough, the Edmonton Oilers will be without one of their top defenseman tonight as they try to avoid the sweep in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
For the third straight game, the eighth-seeded Oilers gave the Stars all they could handle only to come up short again in a 3-2 loss Sunday.
Edmonton, which has suffered three one-goal losses in the series, lost defenseman Roman Hamrlik to a knee injury Sunday. Hamrlik is expected to miss two weeks but he may only miss one game if the Oilers cannot find a way to beat the Stars tonight.
The Oilers shocked the Stars in the conference quarterfinals in 1997 but Dallas returned the favor by ousting Edmonton in the conference semifinals in five games last season.
Ryan Smyth, Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Ethan Moreau each have two points to lead the Oilers, who are 2-for-12 on the power play in the series. Edmonton has held the Stars' scoreless in 16 power-play opportunities.
Dallas has done in this series what it did all season, smother the opposition and get timely scoring. The Stars have peppered goaltender Tommy Salo with 93 shots while Ed Belfour has only faced 54. Despite losing all three games, Salo (.914) actually has a better save percentage than Belfour (.907).
Mike Modano leads the Stars with three points while Guy Carbonneau and Dave Reid each have a team-best two goals. Carbonneau was scratched for Game Three with a shoulder injury.
Should Edmonton win tonight, Game Five would be Thursday in Dallas.
#2 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #7 SAN JOSE SHARKS
Colorado leads 2-1
Game time: Friday April 30th, 1999 7:30pm at Colorado
The San Jose Sharks hope the recent trend of road success continues tonight as they look to even their Western Conference quarterfinal series against the Colorado Avalanche at two games apiece.
The Avalanche swept the first two games in San Jose and came home primed to push the Sharks to the brink of elimination. But Marco Sturm scored twice in a 3:16 span of the third period and Mike Ricci burned his former team for one goal and three assists in a 4-2 victory.
Sharks goaltender Mike Vernon has played very well in all three games, stopping 101 of 108 shots for a .932 save percentage and was finally rewarded with a victory in Game Three. Counterpart Patrick Roy also has been sharp, allowing five goals on 104 shots for a .949 mark.
Ricci collected four points Wednesday after his entire team managed just six in the first two games. The Sharks are 2-for-17 on the power play in the first three games, while the Avalanche are 4-for-22.
The loss dropped Roy to 101-60 all-time in the playoffs and to 17-4-1 against the Sharks. Captain Joe Sakic leads the Avalanche with five points. Right wing Claude Lemieux, one of the greatest playoff performers of all time, is still looking for his first point of the series.
Colorado had been 8-0-2 in its last 10 home games before losing Wednesday.
Game Five is Saturday in Denver.
#3 DETRIOT RED WINGS vs #6 ANAHIEM MIGHTY DUCKS
Detriot leads 3-0
Game time: Tuesday April 27th, 1999 10:30pm at Anahiem
With captain Steve Yzerman leading the charge, the Detroit Red Wings try to complete a sweep of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim tonight in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The Red Wings outscored the Mighty Ducks 10-4 in winning the first two games at home and posted a 4-2 victory Sunday in Game Three. Yzerman, the 1998 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, has a league-best five goals in the series and leads Detroit with six points. Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom each have five points.
The Wings can sweep Anaheim for the second time in three years after winning four straight against the Ducks in the 1997 conference semifinals.
In order to beat the mighty Red Wings, the Ducks needed big series from stars Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne and an outstanding effort from goaltender Guy Hebert. None of that has happened. Selanne has a team-leading four points and Kariya is second with three but Detroit has beaten Hebert 12 times on 98 shots, leaving him with an unspectacular .860 save percentage.
Anaheim will be without one the league's premier enforcers in Stu Grimson. A former Red Wing, Grimson cross-checked Kris Draper in the face during Game Three and drew a match penalty for attempt-to-injure.
Both teams are getting production from their power-play units. Detroit is 6-for-21 while Anaheim is 4-for-16.
Should the Ducks prolong the series, Game Five would be Thursday in Detroit.
#4 PHOENIX COYOTES vs #5 ST. LOUIS BLUES
Phoenix leads 2-1
Game time: Tuesday April 27th, 1999 7:30pm at St. Louis
Blues goaltender Grant Fuhr hopes to leave the disappointing memory of Game Three behind tonight as St. Louis seeks to even its Western Conference quarterfinal series against the Phoenix Coyotes at two games apiece.
Fuhr, who has five Stanley Cups to his credit, allowed four goals on 10 shots in Sunday's 5-4 loss before he was replaced by Jamie McLennan at 8:31 of the first period. Fuhr's next victory will be his 88th in the postseason, tying Billy Smith for second on the all-time list.
The Blues, who held a 38-18 advantage in shots, got back in the game with three straight power-play goals. They were 3-for-7 with the man advantage on Sunday and are 6-for-14 in the series. St. Louis also has gotten an excellent performance from its penalty-killing unit, allowing just two goals in 24 opportunities.
Defenseman Al MacInnis leads all playoff scorers with eight points and also has 17 shots on goal in three games. Pavol Demitra, the team's leading scorer during the regular season, is the only other member of the Blues with two goals.
After they were held to one goal in the series opener, the Coyotes, who are still without center Jeremy Roenick, have erupted for nine goals in winning the last two games.
Despite the absence of its leading scorer during the regular season, Phoenix has received offense from some unlikely sources. Dallas Drake leads the team with five points, Shane Doan is second with four and defenseman Keith Carney is third with three. Captain Keith Tkachuk has been limited to one goal and one assist.
Coyotes goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has allowed nine goals on 105 shots over the first three games for a .906 save percentage.
Game Five is Friday at Phoenix.