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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DALLAS -- Ed Belfour and Mike Modano have been doing what
they do best all postseason. Now that Joe Nieuwendyk has joined
them, the Dallas Stars feel good about their chances of defending
the Stanley Cup.
|  | | Joe Nieuwendyk is peaking at the right time for the Stars. |
Nieuwendyk got the Dallas offense going with an early goal and
linemate Scott Thornton added a goal and two assists as the Stars
beat San Jose 4-1 Sunday night, eliminating the Sharks in five
games.
The Stars advanced to a rematch of last year's Western
Conference finals against the Colorado Avalanche. The first two
games will be in Dallas; the league is expected to release a
schedule Monday.
Many consider Colorado the team to beat because of its solid
depth and great defensemen. But Dallas is optimistic now that
Nieuwendyk and his line look like as much of a threat as Modano and
his partners.
"Those guys have lugged a lot for a long time," Nieuwendyk
said. "Now, we're chipping in and getting some production.
Colorado is a solid group, but we've got a lot of confidence."
Nieuwendyk, the MVP of last year's championship run, started
rolling with two goals in a 5-4 victory in Game 4. He followed that
with a nifty move to beat goalie Steve Shields midway through the
first period for a 1-0 lead.
He basically was picking up where Modano left off. The top-line
center scored a goal in each of the first four games and had points
in the last eight games before being blanked Sunday. His line still
came through, though, as Brett Hull put in a rebound of his own
shot for a power-play goal that made it 3-0 early in the third
period.
"We talked before the series about this team having two
dominant centers," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said. "I think
that showed."
Dallas also has the kind of hot goalie teams often ride to
championships.
Belfour won his eighth straight playoff game at Reunion Arena
and came within 11:28 of a third straight shutout on his home ice.
He ran a scoreless streak to 187 minutes, 25 seconds before being
beaten midway through the third period with the Stars already up
4-0.
He also helped continue the Stars' trend of delivering quick
knockout blows. This was the sixth straight series Dallas has
closed out on its first chance.
"I felt strong today," Belfour said, who revealed he'd been
suffering the flu the last few days. "This was huge for us. Nobody
wanted to travel back to San Jose."
The Sharks played without Owen Nolan, their leading scorer, or
Bryan Marchment, their most physical defenseman. Both were missed
as San Jose failed to beat Belfour despite many good scoring
chances.
Nolan, who had foot and shoulder injuries, missed this game
because of a strained abdominal muscle. Sutter said the team knew
after Game 4 that he wasn't going to play. Marchment, who injured a
groin muscle, didn't even travel to Dallas.
"I can't skate, I can't push off," said Nolan, who missed Game
2, then scored goals each of the next two games. "I couldn't take
explosive strides and couldn't be effective."
The Sharks controlled the puck the first 10 minutes, until
Nieuwendyk's goal gave Dallas all the momentum. It led to
Thornton's goal three minutes later.
Belfour took over from there.
He maintained the lead by knocking away a great scoring chance
by Vincent Damphousse in the closing seconds of the first period.
That foreshadowed a second period that included several nice stops
on a power play followed by a stop on a shot from Jeff Friesen
while sprawled on his side. He made another stop from his stomach
in the third period.
"It's definitely a good feeling when you face quality scoring
chances and stop them," Belfour said. "I had a couple of lucky
saves there and the defense was there to knock away some second
chances."
San Jose's frustration began to show early in the final period
when penalties for tripping and slashing within 1:18 gave Dallas a
5-on-3 advantage. The Stars scored their final two goals within the
next 41 seconds.
With fans chanting "The cup stays here," the only drama left
was whether Belfour would keep the Sharks scoreless in three games
at Reunion. Patrick Marleau ended it by squeezing the puck past
Belfour on a power play.
While Belfour was a steadying influence for Dallas, Shields was
either boom-or-bust. he allowed 27 goals in the seven losses and
seven goals in the five victories.
"I'm disappointed with the way this game went," he said.
"This season, I've been inconsistent at times."
The Sharks will remember this postseason for their first-round
victory over top-seeded St. Louis. It was the fifth time a No. 8
seed had reached the second round, but none have advanced beyond.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
Nolan actually had pulled abdominal muscle
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joe Nieuwendyk beats Steve Shields for the goal.
avi: 834 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Scott Thornton scores the wrap-around goal on Steve Shields.
avi: 719 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Patrick Marleau shoots the puck between Ed Belfour and the post for the goal.
avi: 456 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sylvain Cote fires the shot past Steve Shields for the score.
avi: 446 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mike Modano looks forward to the Western Conference finals against Colorado.
wav: 310 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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