WESTERN SEMI-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 6:
#1 DALLAS STARS vs #5 ST. LOUIS BLUES
Dallas leads 3-2
Game time: Monday May 17th, 1999 7:30pm at St. Louis
In a series dominated by the home team, the Dallas Stars hope to clinch their second straight conference finals berth tonight when they host the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of their Western Conference semifinals.
The Stars got power-play goals from Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk after going 1-for-21 with the man advantage in the first four games of their conference semifinal series and defeated St. Louis, 3-1, Saturday to take a three games to two lead. The home team is 5-0 in the series.
Nieuwendyk has been a solid force for the Stars, recording three goals and three points in this series. He has points in six of his last seven games overall.
A major concern for Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock has been the shots on goal for the Blues. St. Louis has outshot Dallas the last four games, including 31-16 on Saturday. In the two previous contests at the Kiel Center, the Blues had a 58-43 advantage.
St. Louis is already 3-0 in elimination games this season, having come back from three games to one down in the first round against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Scott Young, who scored the Blues' lone goal in Game Five, has two goals and an assist in his last four contests. Pierre Turgeon is tied for fifth with 12 points while Young and defensman Al MacInnis are tied for seventh with 11.
While the Stars have snapped out of their power-play woes, the Blues have not. St. Louis is 1-for-17 with the extra man over the last three contests.
Game Seven, if necessary, is Wednesday in Dallas.
#2 COLORADO AVALANCHE vs #3 DETROIT RED WINGS
Colorado leads 3-2
Game time: Tuesday May 18th, 1999 7:30pm at Detroit
The Colorado Avalanche seek to continue their roll right into the Western Conference finals and end the reign of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings tonight in Game Six of their semifinal series.
The third postseason meeting between these archrivals has been a strange one. The Red Wings looked primed for a third straight championship after they swept both games in Colorado but the Avalanche have roared back to win the last three contests.
The Avalanche became the first team in this series to win at home Sunday in Game Five as Patrick Roy recorded his 12th career playoff shutout, a 3-0 blanking that pushed the Red Wings to the brink of elimination.
Roy moved into a tie with Terry Sawchuk for fourth on the all-time playoff shutout list. Only Clint Benedict, Jacques Plante and Turk Broda have more postseason shutouts.
Chris Osgood returned to action for the Red Wings in Game Five but looked rusty, allowing three goals on 26 shots. The loss snapped Osgood's nine-game playoff winning streak.
The Red Wings were 0-for-6 on the power play Sunday, falling to 2-for-17 in the last three games after going 4-for-15 in the first two. They had at least one power-play goal in each of the previous eight postseason games.
Detroit also lost rugged defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, who suffered a pulled groin in the first period.
Keying the offense for Colorado recently has been center Peter Forsberg, who has two goals and four assists in the last three games. He has a team-leading 15 points in the playoffs.
After going 1-for-12 on the power play in the first two games, the Avalanche are 4-for-14 in the last three contests.
If the Red Wings win tonight, Game Seven is Thursday in Colorado. The winner of this series meets top-seeded Dallas in the conference finals.