| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The San Jose Sharks got to Ed Belfour just enough to get back in their playoff series with the Dallas Stars.
|  | | Ed Belfour's 171-minute, 28-second scoreless streak ended with Mike Ricci's goal. |
Ending a 171-minute, 28-second scoring drought that included
consecutive shutouts by the Dallas goalie in the first two games of
the series, the Sharks broke through for goals by Owen Nolan and Mike Ricci and beat the Stars 2-1 Tuesday night.
The Sharks trail the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal
series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Friday night.
"We've cut it in half, but we have a lot of work to do yet on Friday," Ricci said.
San Jose goalie Steve Shields made his team's sudden offense
stand up by stopping 30 shots, including several clutch saves in
the final period. Dallas pulled Belfour in the final minute for an
extra attacker but Shields smothered Kirk Muller's wraparound
attempt with 30 seconds left and Dallas failed to register another
shot.
"In that final minute, I was having fun," Shields said. "I
wasn't nervous. I'm usually more nervous when the games start. I
knew they were going to attack me. All I had to do was defend."
San Jose finally got its first goal at 5:42 of the second period
and it took a 5-on-3 power play to do it. With Blake Sloan and Aaron Gavey in the penalty box, Gary Suter got off a shot from the
top of the slot and Ricci, positioned in front of the net, used the
shaft of his stick to redirect it past Belfour before he could
adjust.
"The first goal lifted us," said San Jose defenseman Jeff
Norton. "It was big. Our doubts were over. That one got us going.
We haven't lost our confidence. We just needed a wakeup call."
Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock thought Ricci got away with
obstructing Belfour in the crease.
"I didn't agree with some of the calls," Hitchcock said. "I
thought Ricci's goal should not have been counted. It was
goaltender interference."
Belfour said it was a close call that happened to go the Sharks' way.
"He was in front of me and he backed into me but there's
nothing you can do about it," he said. "Sometimes the referees
see it a little bit differently and you have to give them the
benefit of the doubt."
It was the first goal scored on Belfour since early in the third
period of Game 5 in Dallas' first-round victory over Edmonton, a
span of 164:35.
It also marked San Jose's first playoff score since Jeff
Friesen's goal at 14:14 of the second period in the Sharks' Game 7
victory at St. Louis, when they completed their first-round upset
of the top-seeded Blues.
Nolan, San Jose's leading scorer who sat out Game 2 at Dallas
because of foot and shoulder injuries, came back to score his
seventh postseason goal at 14:56 of the second, putting the Sharks
in front.
Bryan Marchment started the rush in the San Jose zone, got the
puck out on the wing to Vincent Damphousse, who shot a lead pass
out to the streaking Nolan. He just managed to take a poke at the
puck as it slid across the slot and directed it into the corner of
the net past the startled Belfour.
"Our game plan was to get more shots and rebounds tonight,"
said Nolan, who didn't decide to play until after the pregame
warmups. "I just started to drive to the net and push the puck
there."
A San Jose turnover near the red line gave the Stars a
short-handed breakaway in the final seconds of the second period
but Mike Modano's shot from up close was stopped by Shields.
"That was a killer," Modano said. "It would have been great
going into the third period tied 2-2."
Modano said all the Stars were hurt by the number of penalties
in the second period.
"We were very undisciplined. When you spend 10 minutes in the
penalty box, it comes back at you," he said. "You give them
enough penalties and they're going to find some spots."
Dallas opened the scoring on the power play as Modano scored his
fifth goal of the playoffs and third of the series. Shields
deflected a shot by Brett Hull but the puck came out to Modano at
the bottom of the faceoff circle and he wristed a shot past Shields
3:35 into the game.
San Jose had some early chances, outshooting the Stars 12-8 in
the first, but was frustrated by Belfour. At one point, Friesen
shook loose on a breakaway but Belfour came out to the top of the
crease and smothered the shot just as Friesen's stick met the puck.
Belfour had another great stop with about eight minutes left in
the period. The Sharks got the puck to Todd Harvey alone in the
slot but Belfour dropped to his knees in anticipation of the
forehand shot and blocked it.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
San Jose Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 3
San Jose 2
Dallas 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Owen Nolan pokes the puck past Ed Belfour, putting the Sharks ahead.
avi: 837 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mike Modano's wrist shot gives the Stars the lead.
avi: 694 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mike Ricci redirects Gary Suter's shot to tie the game.
avi: 1003 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
