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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DALLAS (AP) -- When their three-goal lead was chopped to one, the
Dallas Stars focused on what they do best: smothering defense.
That return to basics, some great saves by Ed Belfour and a
friendly bounce off the right post in the closing seconds gave
Dallas a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the
Western Conference finals Saturday night.
|  | | Dallas' goals may not have been pretty, but they got enough pucks past Patrick Roy to eliminate the Avs in Game 7. |
"It was an unbelievable series," Stars forward Brett Hull
said. "It could have gone either way. I'm just thankful we got
kind of lucky at end and held on."
The defending champions will open the finals Tuesday night in
New Jersey. The Devils overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Philadelphia
in the Eastern Conference finals.
Every game in this series was tight until the Stars threatened
to make this one a rout. Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano scored on the
power play in the first period, then Roman Lyashenko blindly kicked
in a rebound early in the second period.
Dallas was 10-0 this postseason when taking a lead into the
third period, so the only question left seemed to be whether
Belfour could hold the shutout.
But then Peter Forsberg scored a shorthanded goal 5:25 into the final period. Three minutes later, Milan Hejduk redirected a shot
by Ray Bourque past Belfour, reviving the tension that had been
missing since the first period.
"We made a game of it," Colorado's Adam Deadmarsh said.
The Avs only got three more shots at Belfour before pulling
goalie Patrick Roy for a sixth attacker with 1:20 left. They failed
to punch it in on a good flurry in front of the net with 21.2
seconds to go, then Bourque fired a shot that hit Belfour and
clanged off the right post with eight seconds left.
"I tried to get my body over there," Belfour said. "It hit me
on the hip and it was like slow motion as it went toward the
post."
Said Bourque: "I didn't see it, but I heard it hit the post."
The Stars knocked the puck to the other end of the ice,
triggering a postgame celebration that was filled with as much
relief as joy.
"There's so much pressure to perform," Modano said. "As you
get older, you turn that into a positive and try to have fun with
it."
This was the second straight year the Stars and Avs have fought
to a winner-plays-for-the-Cup finale. Dallas won last year's duel
4-1.
This was the third straight year Colorado was eliminated in a
seventh game, and the fourth straight time Roy has lost a Game 7.
He's allowed 16 goals in those games.
"We played good enough in this series to win," forward Dave
Andreychuk said. "We didn't get the bounces, especially in this
game. It's hard to explain the way the bounces go."
The Stars blew a chance to end the series in Game 6, although
they knew the 2-1 loss was one of their best performances of the
postseason. They seemed to pick up where they left off by scoring
on their first two power play chances.
Colorado's never overcame that, ending their near-storybook
quest to get Bourque the first championship of his 20-year career.
He agreed to a trade from Boston in hopes of helping a team make a
run at the Cup. His arrival sparked the Avs down the stretch and
gave them a rallying point in the playoffs.
"I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat," said Bourque, who
had a goal and an assist in the Game 6 victory. "We had a good
run, but anything short of the finals was not going to be good
enough."
In the end, the storyline that played out best was the challenge
between Belfour and Roy.
Belfour said late in the season that he was as good as Roy or
better, then backed it up in this series.
Although Roy had two shutouts, Belfour never allowed more than
two goals in a game and was a steadying influence for his team.
Fans cast their ballot by chanting "Ed-die's bet-ter!" in the
final period.
"I'm not a cocky guy, I never have been," said Belfour, who
improved to 4-0 in Game 7s and has won his last eight games
following a loss. "But I am confident in my ability."
Dallas' early lead was built by taking advantage of Colorado's
first two penalties.
Zubov started it by beating Roy on a one-timer from the center
point just inside the blue line. As the 100th straight sellout at
Reunion Arena roared, Roy sat up on his knees and stared ahead in
disbelief, then dropped his back to the ice in agony.
Colorado's second penalty -- roughing by Andreychuk -- was even
more devastating, partly because it was silly but mainly because it
gave Dallas a great scoring chance with just 16 seconds left in the
period.
Modano scored with six seconds left, raised his arms and head to
the roof and was met in the corner by all four teammates. The four
Avalanche skaters stiffly drifted up the ice several feet apart,
while Roy stood motionless in the goal. The hometown horn operator
pushed the button so long it seemed to be jammed.
Then, five minutes into the second period, Lyashenko scored a
weird one. Derian Hatcher drilled a shot from the right point that
hit teammate Mike Keane's backside and bounced in off Lyashenko's
foot while he was facing away from the net.
"The first half of the game, I thought our passion was
unbelievable," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "Then we got a little
sloppy and gave them that first goal. That gave them some momentum
and they built on that."
Colorado had nothing early. The Avs didn't get a shot on goal on
their first two power plays and went 0-for-3 on the night. They
failed to score on their final 17 power plays of the series.
"We didn't generate enough on the power play and they did. In
the playoffs, the special teams come down to those two things and
we didn't do a very good job this series," said Colorado center
Joe Sakic, who didn't have a goal against Dallas and had only two
in the 17 playoff games.
Belfour improved to 9-1 in elimination games for the Stars. He
also has won 11 of his last 12 playoff games in Reunion Arena
dating to last season's finals.
He won't get a chance to add to that until Saturday. First,
he'll have to go to Continental Airlines Arena for games Tuesday
and Thursday. The Stars went 2-0 against the Devils this season,
winning 2-1 in overtime at home in November and 3-2 on the road in
March.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
Avs bounced by Stars again
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Modano flips the puck over the shoulder of Patrick Roy for the goal.
avi: 945 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Roman Lyashenko gets inside past Patrick Roy for the deflection goal against Colorado.
avi: 665 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sergei Zubov hammers the puck into the back of the net.
avi: 817 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Brett Hull is thankful that the Stars are playing again for the Stanley Cup.
wav: 94 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ken Hitchcock talks about winning the Western Conference division.
wav: 97 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Modano says Ed Belfour made great saves throughout the series.
wav: 107 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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