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Vieille de Canadiens matrice jamais! 'Old Canadiens never die' -- they move to Dallas
Posted: Wednesday April 19, 2000 11:24 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Stars are one victory away from closing out their first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, and for that they can thank their Montreal connection. Former Canadiens captains Guy Carbonneau, Kirk Muller and Mike Keane combined on the game-winning third-period goal in Tuesday night's 4-3 victory over the Oilers at Edmonton. That gave the Stars a 3-1 lead in the series, with Game 5 Friday night at Reunion Arena. Carbonneau's shot from the slot at 5:01 of the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Stars an emotional victory as they rebounded from a 5-2 defeat to Edmonton in Game 3. The 40-year-old Carbonneau, the league's oldest player, was set up by passes from the 34-year-old Muller and 32-year-old Keane. "We always seem to play our best in tight games when there's something on the line," Carbonneau said. Dallas has become an old folks home for former Montreal players. That's because ex-Canadiens captain Bob Gainey is the Stars general manager. Gainey knows about the Stanley Cup, having won five times during his 16-year career with the Canadiens.
In addition to Carbonneau, Muller and Keane, former Canadiens Scott Thornton, Dave Manson and Brian Skrudland are on the Stars. "If you want to win, you get guys from Montreal," Keane said. The Stars leaned on their veterans for Tuesday night's victory to overcome a hat trick by the Oilers' Bill Guerin. Brett Hull, Richard Matvichuk and Mike Modano also scored for Dallas, and the Stars got strong efforts from veterans Joe Nieuwendyk, Derian Hatcher and Thornton. "I don't think we have a commanding lead, but it sure feels good," Keane said about the Stars' position, playing at home in Game 5. For the Stars, the biggest question is the availability of two of their top players: defenseman Sergei Zubov and forward Jere Lehtinen. Both missed the first four games of the series, Zubov with a sprained knee and Lehtinen with recurring ankle problems. Zubov, the Stars' best puck-carrying defenseman and their key on the power play, missed the final five regular season games. Minus Zubov, the Stars have scored only one power play goal in 20 opportunities during the series. Lehtinen sat out all but 17 games during the regular season recovering from a broken ankle. He's won two Selke Trophys as the league's top defensive forward and is considered the Stars' most effective forechecker. Both players are considered day-to-day.
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