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Hey, Mo! Modano sparks Stars offense in Game 2
Posted: Tuesday May 16, 2000 01:17 AM
DALLAS (AP) -- Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars switched roles with the Colorado Avalanche and had another successful second game. Modano scored two goals as the Stars won their eighth consecutive Game 2 with a 3-2 victory over the Avalanche in the Western Conference finals Monday night. "We were able to go out there and be little more of the hunter than the hunted," said Modano, who has eight playoff goals. "I think tonight I was a little more aggressive as far as skating and getting in there first; force them to react to what I'm doing instead of reacting to what they're doing." Dallas was desperate after a 2-0 loss in Game 1 and the series shifting to Colorado on Friday. A two-game deficit would have been hard to overcome, even for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Stars are 1-8 after losing the first two games of a series -- their only comeback was 1968 against the Los Angeles Kings -- and Colorado has not lost in six home playoff games this season. Modano, who got checked into the Colorado bench in Game 1, made sure Dallas didn't have to overcome the odds.
Joe Sakic took Modano out from behind as he charged the net to rebound a Brett Hull miss, but also knocked down Roy in the process. Modano swiped it in just before hitting the ice. Modano scored again on a power play with 1:45 left in the second, lifting a shot from a tough angle on the right wing over Roy's glove shoulder. Roy, the NHL's leader with 119 career playoff wins, allowed eight goals in his previous seven playoff games. "I thought we were undisciplined and they scored a big goal on a penalty," Roy said. "They played a better game, no doubt about it, and we didn't play a solid game." Colorado, already playing without injured defenseman Ray Bourque, lost Adam Foote -- another top defenseman -- 2:42 into the first period when he took a stick to the side of the head. Foote got hit next to his right eye when Jere Lehtinen took a shot from the left wing and caught him on the follow through. He was taken to an area hospital, but was later released and waiting for the team at the airport. "You're always going to lose players, but when you lose a guy that's going to log 30 minutes, it's never easy," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said. Bourque skated in the morning, but opted to wait for Friday's Game 3 in Colorado to test his injured knee. It was his fourth straight missed game. Ozolinsh's goal -- his fifth of the playoffs -- found its way through Adam Deadmarsh's legs and Ed Belfour's pads from about 50 feet away. Hull put Dallas up 3-1 with a blast from the point over Roy's right shoulder 5:48 into the third period. Avalanche rookie defenseman Martin Skoula turned the puck over on the play when he tripped over his own skate next to the net. Peter Forsberg pulled Colorado within one when he redirected a Deadmarsh shot through Belfour's pads with 5:37 left. It was his sixth of the playoffs. "They were a little better and we weren't as good as we should have been," Forsberg said. "They played a great game and we didn't match it." The Stars' rally from a poor Game 1 was the continuation of a trend. Dallas came back from a loss in Game 1 of last year's conference finals with one of its best games of the season, then did it again after a Game 5 loss with an energized road victory to even the series. This year's playoffs have been no different. The Stars took a beating from Edmonton in Game 3 of their first-round series, but rallied to win the final two games. They also followed a bad Game 3 at San Jose with a pair of victories -- eliminating the Sharks in five games. "Even when we were down 1-0, we kept going," Stars forward Guy Carbonneau said. "We didn't have that desperation in Game 1 and it cost us."
Dallas played without first-line forward Brenden Morrow, who
broke his ankle in Game 1 and will miss the rest of the playoffs.
He was replaced by Lehtinen, who made his first start Saturday
after missing all but 17 games with a broken ankle.
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