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BOX SCORE
DALLAS (AP) -- The return of Sergei Zubov was exactly what the Dallas Stars needed to lift their sagging power play.
|  | | Ed Belfour registered his ninth career playoff shutout, second among active goalies behind Patrick Roy's 13. |
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.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Brenden Morrow redirects Derian Hatcher's shot and scores.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ed Belfour makes the nice sliding save.
avi: 452 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mike Modano gets the rebound and beats Steve Shields.
avi: 645 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mike Modano and the Stars wanted to get back into playoff mode.
wav: 127 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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