|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
DETROIT (Ticker) -- In a matchup between two of the best goaltenders in the game, Joe Nieuwendyk and Shaun Van Allen scored first-period goals and Ed Belfour protected the lead as the Dallas Stars defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3. In a wide-open, fast-paced game that Dallas is unaccustomed to, the Stars went 3-for-7 on the power play and improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight trips to Joe Louis Arena. "This wasn't a typical Detroit-Dallas game," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "Usually, it's more tight checking, more like a playoff game. This wasn't like a playoff game. It was much more wide-open. "We had a lot of moments when we broke down. The last three or four games, we've been shorthanded too much. We've taken penalties at bad moments. We can't take any foolish penalties." Belfour turned away all 10 of Detroit's shots in the first period and finished with a season-high 42 saves in his 142nd career win with Dallas. The 1992-93 Vezina Trophy winner is one win away from tying Cesare Maniago's franchise record. Belfour was at his best in the final two minutes when the Red Wings pulled Dominik Hasek for a 6-on-3 advantage. With 52 seconds remaining, Belfour denied Tomas Holmstrom as he tried to redirect Steve Yzerman's point shot. Just eight seconds later, Belfour moved to his left and made a pad save on Luc Robitaille's one-timer from the bottom of the right faceoff circle. With 21 seconds left, Belfour stacked his pads to deny a redirection by former teammate Brett Hull. "He's always getting the puck on net," Belfour said of Hull. "I played a lot of games against him when he was with St. Louis and I was in Chicago. You have to always keep an eye on him because you know he's going to find the open spot." "It was one of those games, five power-play goals," Hull said. "It seemed like we were shorthanded an awful lot in this game. Some of these games are being called like they call them in the preseason. They're a great team, they play great defense and they've got a great offense, too. That's why you can't take penalties against them." Nieuwendyk, Donald Audette and defenseman Sergei Zubov each had a goal and an assist as Dallas improved to 1-2-1 on the road. "This was a big nut to crack, beating a team on the road like this one," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "There comes a time when you have to play a really good team on the road. We needed this to show that we could compete at this level." Audette got his first goal in nine games with Dallas 3:19 into the third. With Holmstrom in the penalty box for hooking, Audette slid a backhander past Hasek with defenseman Chris Chelios draped on his back, giving the Stars a 4-2 advantage. "If there was any other goalie but Dominik in there tonight, we'd have scored 10 goals," Audette said. "It's always like playoff game against Detroit. I'm just trying to play the style they ask us to. Everyone has to make sacrifices, but it's good to finally break out." Pierre Turgeon's third goal made it 5-2 with 8:12 to play. Hasek came out of his net to knock the puck away from Audette on a breakaway. The puck went to the left circle and Turgeon easily flipped in into the empty net. Rookie defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov scored his first goal 16 seconds later, beating Belfour with a slap shot from the left circle. Hasek, a six-time Vezina winner who began his career as Belfour's backup with Chicago, finished with 40 saves, but the Red Wings had their six-game winning streak snapped. Hasek turned away all nine of Dallas' shots during a power play at the start of the second period. Dallas converted its first power play eight minutes into the game when Nieuwendyk got his fourth goal of the season. Van Allen doubled the lead 86 seconds later, redirecting Jamie Langenbrunner's shot past Hasek from the top of the crease. The Red Wings cut the deficit in half on Robitaille's power-play goal with 8:05 left in the second. Robitaille was in the right crease and Hull's shot deflected off his skate and by Belfour. Robitallie has a seven-game goal-scoring streak. Zubov restored the Stars' two-goal lead with a power-play tally 6:59 left in the second. Zubov took a slap shot from the right point and Pat Verbeek screened Hasek as the puck went into the short side of the net. "They're a dangerous team offensively," Verbeek said. "We couldn't relax. You saw how they made it 5-3 right after we made it 5-2. They've got guys who can score goals and they don't need a lot of room to score. It was a fun game to play." Lidstrom scored on the power play with 80 seconds to go in the second to pull Detroit within 3-2. Lidstrom took a pass from Hull and faked a shot from the left circle before skating and firing a slap shot inside the left post.
|
