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BOX SCORE
DENVER (AP) -- Patrick Roy had the opposition seeing Stars again.
|  | | Adam Deadmarsh, right, scored a goal for the Avs and helped hold Mike Modano without a shot. |
Roy tied an NHL record with his 15th career playoff shutout as
the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Friday night.
Shjon Podein and Adam Deadmarsh scored goals and rookie Martin
Skoula had two assists as Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the
best-of-seven Western Conference finals. Game 4 is Sunday in
Denver, where the Avalanche are 7-0 in the playoffs.
Roy matched the shutout mark set by Clint Benedict of Ottawa and
the Montreal Maroons in the 1920s, and extended his league record
for playoff victories to 120.
Roy, whose 21 saves included a stop on Brett Hull on a breakaway early in the third period, also beat Dallas 2-0 in the first game
of the series.
Asked what the shutout meant to him, Roy said, "It's not that
important for me. I've never really been a shutout goaltender, but
maybe I could have that habit now.
"It's fun the way the guys are playing in front of me. Tonight,
they were very sharp, and our penalty-killing was a big key.
Killing those two penalties right off the start gave us momentum."
Roy insisted he wasn't aware of his lofty playoff shutout status
"until the last time when I saw I was tied with Jacques Plante
(for second place). What's more important is to see the team play
the way it is right now."
Defenseman Ray Bourque returned to the Colorado lineup after
missing four games because of a knee injury. He helped replace Adam
Foote, the defenseman sidelined by an eye injury.
"I didn't have any problems at all moving around and felt very
comfortable," Bourque said. "This was a humongous win. Patrick
was unbelievable. Really, all four lines played a super game."
Dallas allowed 40 shots, its most in 13 games this postseason.
Ed Belfour had 38 saves.
Dallas' top four scorers in the playoffs -- Hull, Mike Modano,
Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner -- failed to get off any
shots in the first two periods. Modano, who scored two goals in
Dallas' 3-2 win in Game 2 and holds the Stars' career playoff goal
record, didn't get a shot the entire game.
"I thought we were beat in pretty much every area," Stars
coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I thought the reason we took penalties
was because we were in our end all night.
"Colorado has a very strong focus right now and is playing at a
higher level than we are. If we expect to win Game 4 and extend
this series, we're going to have to raise our level of play. In the
gritty areas, they outplayed us tonight. They beat us to the loose
pucks, they were stronger in front of our net than we were in front
of their net."
Modano said Belfour was "our best player. He kept us in the
game. But when you don't have a lot of quality chances, if you
don't get the puck to the net and create enough off the forecheck,
you aren't going to beat that team. We wore ourselves out as
penalty-killers."
Colorado had 10 power plays compared to Dallas' three.
The teams, who hadn't played since Monday night, skated to a
fast-paced first period.
Podein scored just 1:39 into the game, taking a pass from Chris
Drury along the boards and beating Belfour from the slot. Podein's
fifth goal of the playoffs marked his career high.
Colorado later killed off two penalties, and Dallas withstood
two short-handed situations, including a four-minute penalty on Modano for a high-sticking incident that left Deadmarsh with a
bloody nose.
The Avalanche got off four shots on the Modano penalty, but
Belfour was outstanding, including stops on Joe Sakic and Dave
Andreychuk.
Colorado, outworking the Stars, outshot Dallas 20-4 in the
second period but managed only a power-play goal by Deadmarsh.
The Avalanche, who had only seven shots on their first five
power plays, finally broke through at 14:50. Sakic won a faceoff
against Guy Carbonneau to the left of Belfour, and Skoula's long
shot was redirected by Deadmarsh from in front of the goal.
It was the first goal in nine games for Deadmarsh, who leads
Colorado in scoring in the playoffs with four goals and 11 assists.
Kirk Muller's double-minor for high sticking in the third period
gave Colorado its ninth and 10th straight power-play opportunities,
but Belfour and the Stars killed off the penalties.
The teams also met in the conference finals last year, with
Dallas prevailing 4-3 en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
Colorado defenseman Greg de Vries required seven stitches to
repair a cut over his right eye late in the first period but
returned.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
Bourque back, in command in Game 3
RECAPS
Colorado 2
Dallas 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shjon Podein puts the Avalanche on the board early.
avi: 772 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Adam Deadmarsh redirects Martin Skoula's shot from the point.
avi: 693 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Patrick Roy shuts down Brett Hull on the breakaway.
avi: 561 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Roy gets roughed up in front of the net.
avi: 1020 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Partick Roy says Colorado played a perfect game on Friday.
wav: 401 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ken Hitchcock felt the Avs played at a much higher level.
wav: 147 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Chris Drury can't say enough of Patrick Roy.
wav: 68 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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