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10/12/99
Stars sign Nieuwendyk to three-year extension
DALLAS (AP) - Joe Nieuwendyk, the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs, signed
a three-year contract extension Tuesday that will keep him with the Dallas
Stars through the 2002-03 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nieuwendyk,
who would have been a free agent after this season, had rejected an offer
over the summer. The night of the season opener, Stars general manager Bob
Gainey said negotiations with Nieuwendyk would wait until next summer. ``We
are very pleased to have Joe under contract,'' Gainey said. ``We look forward
to his contributions.'' The 33-year-old Nieuwendyk centers Dallas' second
line, playing behind a unit headed by Mike Modano and Brett Hull. Nieuwendyk
led the Stars with 39 goals and 69 points in 1997-98, then suffered a severe
knee injury early in the playoffs. His absence was felt when the Stars were
eliminated in the Western Conference finals. He returned last season to score
28 goals and 27 assists, and added 11 goals and 10 assists in the playoffs.
His record-tying six game-winning goals in the postseason helped lead Dallas
to its first Stanley Cup title. The four-time All-Star was the rookie of the
year in 1988 and played for Canada in the Olympics last year. Dallas acquired
Nieuwendyk from Calgary in December 1995. The contract extension gives Nieuwendyk
an opportunity to reach the 500-goal plateau for his career. He currently
has 426 goals, ninth among active NHL players.
10/01/99
DALLAS 6, PITTSBURGH 4
Shooting Stars: New-look
Dallas offense too much for Pens
(AP) - After celebrating an NHL title won with a gritty defense, the Dallas
Stars showed Friday night why they believe they can repeat as champions with
a juiced-up offense. Mike Modano scored twice and Brett Hull and Joe Nieuwendyk
each had a goal and two assists as the Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4
in the opener, spoiling Mario Lemieux's debut as the owner of his former team.
"With all the hoopla going on this week, this was something good for us to build
on," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. The Stars looked different as soon as
they hit the ice thanks to new uniforms. By the second period, it was obvious
more than that had changed. Instead of playing to protect a 2-1 lead, Dallas
kept trying to score -- and did. Modano's second goal made it 6-2 and not even
two goals in a span of 1:13 could bring back the Penguins. Kip Miller scored
twice for the Pens.
07/23/99
Nieuwendyk Takes Stanley Cup Home
(CP) - Joe Nieuwendyk returned to the arena where he learned to skate and he
brought with him the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy. Some 2,000 turned
out at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby, Ontario, to welcome back the
hometown hero. Nieuwendyk entered through a blue curtain with the Stanley Cup
raised above his head. Everybody cheered. The Smythe trophy already was on a
pedestal, emblematic of his selection as Most Valuable Player in the finals.
He set the big, silver championship trophy on another pedestal before accepting
framed pronouncements from local political figures. He was commended for being
an inspiration to all. "This is extremely overwhelming," he told the crowd.
"I look around at all the kids and it reminds me of when I was growing up here.
It's a great feeling to come home to Whitby." "I hope you enjoy the Stanley
Cup as much as I do," he said. "I just wanted to come back today and share it
with you." Peter Lang, president of the community's minor hockey association,
presented Nieuwendyk with a Whitby minor hockey jersey, and lauded him as an
outstanding role model. "You'll see a lot of No. 25s here today, but you see
them here every day," said Lang. "Everybody looks up to Joe." Youngsters put
their arms around the Stanley Cup behind Nieuwendyk to have photographs taken.
"It's been a dream come true," Nieuwendyk said of his hockey career. "It's been
a real thrill for me."
06/13/99
No ordinary Cup for this Joe
(AP) - Dallas was forced to play without one of its biggest offensive weapons
against the most dominating goalie in hockey. No chance for the Stars against
Buffalo, right? With Brett Hull out and Mike Modano hampered by a wrist injury,
Joe Nieuwendyk had two goals against Dominik Hasek and the Stars regained home-ice
advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals by beating Buffalo 2-1 Saturday night, to
take a 2-1 edge into Game 4 Tuesday, with two of the final three games, if necessary,
in Dallas. "We're not done yet, but tonight was a big step for us," said Nieuwendyk.
The Stars are nowhere close to being done. With Buffalo unable to get off even
a baker's dozen of shots on goal (12), the Sabres couldn't even cook up a goal
on eight power play opportunities. Dallas limited Buffalo to fewer shots (three)
than power plays (four) in the first period. Stu Barnes scored for Buffalo.
06/12/99
DALLAS 2, BUFFALO 1
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - What could possibly happen next to the star-crossed Dallas
Stars?
How about winning the Stanley Cup?
Joe Nieuwendyk, almost forced to score with Brett Hull out and Mike Modano
hampered by a wrist injury, had two goals and the depleted Stars regained home-ice
advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals by beating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Saturday
night.
The Stars take a 2-1 edge into Game 4 on Tuesday, with two of the final three
games, if necessary, in Dallas.
"We're not done yet, but tonight was a big step for us," said Nieuwendyk,
who last played in the Stanley Cup finals 10 years ago for Calgary.
Nieuwendyk's goals were his 10th and 11th of the playoffs but his first
in five games, and might have saved the series for the two-time defending regular
season champion Stars. Nothing new there -- Nieuwendyk has seven of the
Stars' 15 game-winning playoff goals.
Dallas had every reason to lose but didn't, killing off eight Buffalo power
plays -- one a two-man advantage -- and overcoming a groin injury that forced
Hull to the locker room after less than three minutes of ice time. Hull is eighth
in NHL playoff history in scoring and had the game-winning goal in Game 2 in
Dallas. His status for Game 4 is uncertain.
"If Hull can't play, that's going to be tough, but we've got some good people
sitting in the wings. There's a lot of confidence here," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock
said.
The Stars already were less than 100 percent with Modano, their leading regular-season
scorer, bothered by a wrist injury that forced him to take a shot of painkiller.
He wasn't a big factor on offense, missing on all five shots, and took three
potentially costly penalties in the second period. Yet the Stars persevered
in the kind of dig-down-deep effort that NHL coaches lecture about from the
day training camp starts. Dallas limited Buffalo -- on the Sabres' home ice,
no less -- to fewer shots (3) than power plays (4) in the first period.
With Dallas locked tight into their defensive mode, the Sabres rarely pressured
goaltender Ed Belfour and were outshot 29-12.
"We were pretty tight. We were really squeezing the sticks," Sabres coach Lindy
Ruff said. "They gave us a darned good lesson. They suffocated us. We didn't
skate well, but a lot of that had to do with the way they played."
With Buffalo unable to convert its numerous man-advantage chances, Nieuwendyk
tied it at 15:33 of the second by poking in a rebound of his own wrist shot
past sprawling Dominik Hasek, who had gone down to play the first shot. Hasek
made 27 saves. Nieuwendyk got the game-winner at 9:35 of the third, taking
Jamie Langenbrunner's bouncing pass from behind the net to wrist the puck past
Hasek for the biggest goal of his career.
"That was a goal-scorer's goal," Hitchcock said. "A lot of guys put that
puck in position to make a play but don't, but he did. Scorers make those plays."
The Sabres' Dixon Ward said, "If he's in front of the net, he'll make you pay.
But these games are going to happen. We have to find a way to rebound."
Two of the three games have been won by the visiting team _ Buffalo won 3-2
in overtime in Game 1 -- and the loss was Buffalo's first in eight home playoff
games. For the third consecutive game, the team that scored the first goal lost.
Dallas scored first in Game 1 and the Sabres took the early lead in Dallas'
4-2 victory in Game 2.
"It's not coming easy and not coming early, but eventually it's going in for
us," Langenbrunner said.
Even as the Stars repeatedly took retaliatory penalties to counter Buffalo's
physical play, the Sabres' only goal came at even strength. Catching Belfour
out of position, Stu Barnes took Richard Smehlik's pass in the right circle
and wristed it into the unguarded net at 7:51 of the second for his eighth goal
in the playoffs.
With both of their big guns hurting, Dallas went into a lockdown mode, killing
off a two-man advantage that lasted the final 1:14 of the period and limiting
Buffalo to three shots in the both the first and third periods.
"This is the first chunk of adversity we're going to have to face," Sabres coach
Lindy Ruff said. "We played a bad hockey game. If we play like that, we're going
to lose. We have to come out and win Tuesday night and then go from there."
05/26/99
DALLAS 3, COLORADO 0
DENVER (AP) - The first goal was lucky. But then came two more, which left the
Colorado
Avalanche seeing Stars. Joe Nieuwendyk had a goal and two assists, and
Ed Belfour posted his sixth career playoff shutout as the Dallas Stars beat
Colorado 3-0 Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
"We got the home-ice advantage back," said Dallas forward Jamie Langenbrunner,
who scored the Stars' second goal. "That was important to us."
Game 4 of the best-of-7 Western Conference final series is scheduled for Friday
night in Denver.
Nieuwendyk scored his eighth goal of the playoffs at 2:22 of the second
period on a shot that deflected off a defenseman's skate. Nieuwendyk,
who chased the puck behind the net, flicked a shot from behind and just left
of the goal. But the puck hit the right skate of Colorado defenseman Aaron Miller,
who was stationed in front of the net, and ricocheted between Patrick Roy's
legs.
It was Nieuwendyk's fifth game-winning goal of the playoffs, a figure
that leads the NHL. On a 2-on-1 break after a Colorado turnover at mid-ice in
the third period, Langenbrunner took a pass from Nieuwendyk and beat
Roy from the slot at 10:44.
Dave Reid made it 3-0, scoring from the left circle at 16:05 on assists by Craig
Ludwig and Nieuwendyk. Belfour had 34 saves and Roy 23.
"If you're going to win in the playoffs, your goaltender has to be your best
player," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Eddie was our best player tonight.
He was excellent."
Belfour said he had plenty of help.
"I felt strong tonight," he said. "I saw the puck really well, and the people
in front of me cleared the rebounds.
"They came out real strong with chances right off the bat. Once we got through
that and I made some stops, our guys got the puck out of our zone. We were in
control the rest of the night."
Colorado hit the goal post three times with scoring chances. "I had some good
luck," Belfour said. "The posts were on my side."
The loss dropped the Avalanche to 2-5 at home in the playoffs. The Stars, meanwhile,
are 4-2 in road playoff games. Colorado committed 23 giveaways, compared to
Dallas' four.
"I think they're outsmarting us a little bit right now," Colorado center Peter
Forsberg said. "They got the breaks that we're not getting, but I think overall,
they're playing smarter than us."
Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said Belfour "is playing great. He's seeing everything.
Their defensemen are blocking a lot of shots for him. I think we can do a better
job of getting guys in front of him."
In a wide-open first period Belfour stopped 15 shots and Roy 13. Colorado, which
had only 19 shots in Game 2 -- including just one in the third period -- mounted
early pressure on Belfour. But the Stars' goalie responded with a save off Milan
Hejduk from close range and a stop on a rebound shot by Valeri Kamensky from
the slot.
Belfour stopped shots by Chris Drury and Theo Fleury during a Colorado power
play, and Roy deflected a shot from the right circle by Nieuwendyk during
a Dallas power play. Colorado had two prime scoring chances in the second period.
Early in the period, Kamensky hit the cross bar. Later, Sandis Ozolinsh's shot
from the slot, on a feed from Fleury, clanged off the post.
05/24/99
DALLAS 4, COLORADO 2
DALLAS (AP) - Whatever mystique Patrick Roy held over the Dallas Stars is gone.
The winningest goaltender in playoff history couldn't hold up under a 45-shot
assault Monday night, allowing third-period goals to Joe Nieuwendyk and
Mike Modano as Dallas beat Colorado 4-2 to even the Western Conference finals
at a game apiece.
"We didn't have much of a choice but to keep firing the puck," Nieuwendyk
said. "Patrick's been in a bit of a zone the last week to 10 days so we couldn't
be satisfied with just one shot and then exit the zone. We were getting good
looks and eventually we found some holes."
The Avalanche, who had won five straight since trailing Detroit 0-2 in the second
round, lost on the road for the first time in the playoffs. Their seven straight
postseason road wins tied the NHL record. The Avalanche will host Games 3 and
4 Wednesday and Friday at McNichols Arena, where they are 2-4 this postseason.
"We're going home and it's now the best out of five," Colorado coach Bob Hartley
said. "We're not happy with our performance, but let's not go crazy over this."
Stars coach Ken Hitchock had told his team to be more physical and more aggressive
on offense after not doing enough of either in a 2-1 loss Saturday night. They
responded immediately.
"We played this game as if it was a seventh game, and that's the way we need
to play the rest of the way," Hitchcock said. "We need to be a street fighter."
Roy, whose seven stops in the final minutes of Game 1 preserved his 108th playoff
win, had not seen this many shots in a playoff game since 1997.
"They were desperate," Roy said. "They really needed the game. It seems to me
that we didn't understand that."
Dallas matched its Game 1 total of 31 shots on its first swt of the third period
Monday night. The Stars outshot the Avalanche 15-1 in the final period as they
racked up their most attempts since trying 56 in a triple-overtime victory in
the first round.
"Patrick gives us a chance every game," Hartley said. "We took some bad penalties,
we gave them some power plays and they have a great hockey club, so they didn't
get 45 shots by luck."
Ed Belfour faced 19 shots in the game. While it wasn't nearly as many as Roy,
he denied plenty of good scoring opportunities. Both goals he allowed were on
rebounds, just like in Game 1. The Game 2 scorers were Sandis Ozolinsh on a
first-period power play to put Colorado up 1-0 and a diving shot by Milan Hejduk
that made it 2-2 in the second period.
Dallas' early goals came from unlikely sources. Dave Reid scored for the first
time in 20 playoff games and Sergei Zubov fired in his first of the postseason.
With 13:02 left, Verbeek appeared to put the Stars up 3-2 when he used his skate
and stick to nudge the puck by Roy. Having it wiped away motivated Dallas, much
like a called-off goal sparked Colorado in Game 1.
"We really dug in," Verbeek said. "We started to win 1-on-1 battles and we got
two goals after that."
Five minutes later, Nieuwendyk screened Roy on a Verbeek shot that the
goalie was able to stop. Nieuwendyk reacted first to the rebound and
flicked it into the net. Derian Hatcher also assisted.
Modano, who assisted on Zubov's goal that put Dallas up 2-1, fired the puck
over Roy a few minutes later on a power play. Modano has a five-game scoring
streak with three goals and five assists in that span. Modano's goal was Dallas'
lone tally on seven man-advantages.
05/08/99
DALLAS 5, ST. LOUIS 4 (OT)
DALLAS (AP) - Now the Dallas Stars know what they missed by not having Joe
Nieuwendyk in the playoffs last year.
Nieuwendyk's goal with 11:38 left in overtime gave the Dallas Stars a
5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night and a 2-0 lead in their
Western Conference semifinal series. It was his third game-winning goal in the
playoffs.
The teams will meet at St. Louis on Monday night in the third game of the best-of-7
series.
Nieuwendyk took a perfect pass from Sergei Zubov as both teams played
a man short in a 4-on-4 situation and whipped a shot from just inside the right
circle past the glove of goaltender Grant Fuhr.
It was Nieuwendyk's second goal of the game to go along with an assist.
He suffered a damaging knee injury last year in the first period of the Stars'
first playoff game and they missed his offense when Detroit knocked them out.
Nieuwendyk was on the 1989 Calgary team that won the Stanley Cup.
"Zuby gave me a nice pass and I was able to take it wide which is something
I like to do," Nieuwendyk said. "I hit the crossbar in the third period
in a similar situation. This time it went straight in."
Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said Nieuwendyk has been the team's catalyst.
"He's making up for lost time," Hitchcock said. "He is a very focused individual.
He's a very determined player right now."
Dallas struck early in the third period to tie the game at 4 when Jere Lehtinen
scored on a rebound after a shot by Mike Modano to send the game into overtime.
Pavol Demitra scored his second goal of the game in the second period with just
one second left on a 5-on-3 power play to give the Blues a 4-3 lead. Al MacInnis
fed Demitra a perfect centering pass and Demitra found the open side of the
net to beat a diving Ed Belfour.
"My goals don't matter because we lost," Demitra said. "It was a very tough
game for us to lose but we have plenty of games left. It was good to finally
get some goals against them, and scoring is what I have to do."
Scott Young and Pierre Turgeon got the other two goals in a productive second
period for the Blues. Turgeon played although he had a sore leg after being
slashed by Pat Verbeek in the first game of the series. Nieuwendyk and
Mike Keane scored for the Stars in the wild second period when both teams broke
away on numerous odd-man rushes.
The Stars and Blues traded goals in the first. Jamie Langenbrunner got Dallas
on top with a slap shot from the top of the circle that went between Fuhr's
legs. Langenbrunner was set up on a crisp pass from Nieuwendyk. The Blues
retaliated with just 32.8 seconds left in the period when Demitra skated free
and got off a 45-foot shot that got between Belfour's legs. It was the first
goal that Belfour had yielded in 152:24.
04/27/99
DALLAS 3, EDMONTON 2 (3OT)
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Joe Nieuwendyk scored with 2:26 left in the
third overtime as the Dallas Stars completed a first-round Western Conference
playoff sweep of the Edmonton Oilers with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.
Sergei Zubov shot from the point and the puck ticked off Nieuwendyk's
right leg and past goaltender Tommy Salo, sending the top-seeded Stars into
the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The goal was the second of the
night for Nieuwendyk in a tense playoff game that was the 12th longest
in NHL history.
The Stars, who finished 36 points ahead of the Oilers during the regular season,
outshot Edmonton 56-39 in the game, including 11-2 in the third overtime.
Ryan Smith and Todd Marchant scored for Edmonton in regulation, while Jamie
Langenbrunner scored the other Dallas goal.
It was the Stars' third straight 3-2 win and the fourth time they battled back
late in the game to beat the Oilers. The game was the longest ever for either
franchise.
Edmonton outshot Dallas 11-6 in a wide-open first overtime. Stars goalie Ed
Belfour looked shaky early, juggling a long-distance slap shot by Bill Guerin,
but made a big save when he slid across the crease at 10:11 to rob Chad Kilger
on a point-blank one-timer. The Stars' best opportunity came at 16:40 when defenseman
Craig Ludwig threaded a pass through a knot of players to Nieuwendyk,
who was standing at the side of the goal. Nieuwendyk could not beat Salo.
The Stars controlled the second overtime, especially the line of Mike Modano,
Brett Hull and Jere Lehtinen, and outshot the Oilers 10-6, hitting the goalpost
once. Salo made his best save 35 seconds into the period when he came out and
slid on his pads to stop a shot by Mike Keane.
Smyth opened the scoring for Edmonton at 4:47 of the second period when he backhanded
a rebound of Christian Laflamme's point shot past Belfour. It was his third
goal in two games.
Nieuwendyk tied the game on a power play with 38 seconds left in the
period, stuffing a goal-mouth rebound past Salo. It was the Stars' first power-play
goal in the series. The unit, ranked sixth in the league in the regular season,
had been 0-for-19 in the series.
Marchant put Edmonton ahead 2-1 at 6:33 of the third. He scored after forward
Ethan Moreau worked the puck out from behind the Stars' net and backhanded a
pass across the crease to Marchant. Dallas tied the game, again on a power play,
when Langenbrunner one-timed a pass by Zubov past Salo at 11:05.
Edmonton lost first-line center Doug Weight to injury just over five minutes
into the game when Lehtinen slammed into Smyth near the penalty box. Smyth's
skate came up, cutting Weight's mouth and knocking him out of the game with
a concussion. He was taken to a hospital for observation.
Wayne Gretzky, who won four Stanley Cups with the Oilers in the 1980s, dropped
the ceremonial first puck. It was his first return to Skyreach Centre since
he retired earlier this month.
04/25/99
DALLAS 3, EDMONTON 2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Even though they're making it tough on the Edmonton
Oilers, the Dallas Stars haven't made it easy for themselves in their Western
Conference series. For the second time in the series, the Stars spotted the
Oilers the early lead before coming back to win 3-2 Sunday night.
"I'm proud of how we came back because they're a young aggressive hockey club
and they're not going to go away," said Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock after his
team took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. "I thought that when we turned
it on in the third, we got our game going and made the most of our chances."
Ryan Smyth had scored power-play goals in the first and third periods before
the Stars rallied to win on late goals by Mike Keane, Mike Modano and Joe
Nieuwendyk.
"There's not much to choose between these two hockey clubs right now," added
Hitchcock. "Every game has been a one-goal game and the difference between winning
and losing is a pretty fine line. That's why this game is so important for us
because we stayed on the right side of that fine line."
The Oilers had a tough night, with two goals disallowed.
"It's hard to take, but we know we could look at ourselves for the reasons,"
Smyth said. "After we got our second goal, we sat back a little and let them
take control of the game. They shot the puck when they had an opening and good
things could happen when you do that."
The top-ranked Stars can finish a sweep with a victory on Tuesday night against
the eighth-ranked Oilers.
Only two teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 deficits in a best-of-7
series -- the last the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in
1975.
Dallas eliminated the Oilers in five games in last year's conference semifinals.
Keane scored Dallas' first goal on a long wrist shot and Modano popped in a
rebound at 10:20 to tie it.
Nieuwendyk then beat Oilers goaltender Tommy Salo with a 50-foot wrist
shot at 12:32.
Nieuwendyk skated to the edge of the left circle and put a shot over
Salo's glove that gave the Stars their third one-goal victory in as many games.
Dallas also won for the second time in the series when trailing after two periods.
04/14/99
DALLAS 4, PHOENIX 2
DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes didn't like each other very
much prior to Wednesday night's game, and the rivalry has now moved to another
level.
Joe Nieuwendyk scored two goals, including an empty-netter with 27 seconds
to play, as the Stars beat Phoenix 4-2 in a game that cost the Coyotes top scorer
Jeremy Roenick for an indefinite period due to a broken jaw. Roenick was injured
by a hard check by Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher.
After the game, Coyotes coach Jim Schoenfeld said Roenick is out for the season,
including playoffs.
"As it stands now, he's out for the remainder of the season," Schoenfeld said,
adding that Roenick's condition will be further evaluated on Thursday.
Roenick's jaw was so badly swollen that he was unable to talk after the game,
and he also had several broken teeth. He was injured while Phoenix was on a
power play and Roenick was skating along the boards in the corner of the Dallas
zone. Hatcher leveled Roenick with a booming check at 5:52 of the opening period.
The center fell to the ice with blood coming from his mouth and was taken to
the locker room, where the broken jaw in three places was diagnosed. Hatcher
received a five-minute boarding penalty and a game misconduct.
The Hatcher check was the aftermath of the previous meeting between the teams
on March 23 when Roenick knocked Dallas' top scorer Mike Modano out of the game
on a hit away from the puck.
Roenick received a five-minute penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. Modano
left the game and had seven stitches over his left eye while Dallas was claiming
a 3-2 win at America West Arena.
"We're going to see what the league is going to do about this," said Coyotes
captain Keith Tkachuk. "Hatcher should be suspended as long as Jeremy Roenick
doesn't play in the playoffs. It's a premeditated incident. He (Hatcher) said
he was going to get him. Well, he got him. They broke his jaw."
Hatcher said he was sorry Roenick was injured, but he said the check was a clean
one.
"I feel bad he broke his jaw," Hatcher said. "But he saw me coming and I saw
him before the hit. It's tough to say what the league is going to do. I went
into the corner to make a good check, and stuff like that happens through the
course of a season."
During the days leading up to the game, both teams had talked extensively about
the Modano incident and the need to settle things on the ice.
"He (Hatcher) should be suspended for 10-15 games," said Rick Tocchet of the
Coyotes. "If you do something wrong, drop your gloves like a man. But a 6-6
guy (Hatcher) jumps in the air, throws an elbow, that's wrong. The league needs
to make a statement."
Dallas' Ed Belfour stopped 33 shots for his 35th victory, becoming the fourth
goalie in league history to record 35 or more victories in five different seasons.
The others are Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk and Ken Dryden. Modano and Sergei
Zubov also scored for Dallas. Shane Doan and Dallas Drake scored for Phoenix.
04/09/99
DALLAS 3, N.Y. RANGERS 1
DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars are on top of their game and on top of the NHL.
Joe Nieuwendyk had a goal and an assist as Dallas clinched the NHL's
best record and set a franchise mark for points in a season with a 3-1 victory
over the New York Rangers on Friday night. The Stars improved to 110 points,
assuring the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs
for the second straight season.
Last season, the Stars were knocked out of the playoffs in the Western Conference
finals by the eventual champion Detroit Red Wings. Bring on the pressure, says
Stars coach Ken Hitchcock.
"I think there's a tendency to downgrade the Presidents' Trophy because there
seems to be such a burden that goes along with it," Hitchcock said. "But I prefer
to look at it as a reward for seven months of tremendous effort. We're glad
to be right where we're at."
Dallas surpassed last season's 109 points. The Stars also set a club record
with their 27th home victory, beating the mark set in three different seasons,
including last year, and tied the team record with their 49th victory.
"It's nice to get it out of the way," Nieuwendyk said. "It shows our
team played hard night in and night out. I think that's what the rest of the
league says about "
Mike Keane and Dave Reid also had goals for the Stars. The Presidents' Trophy
will be presented to the Stars before Sunday afternoon's home game against the
Los Angeles Kings.
"It's huge," said Stars goalie Ed Belfour. "It shows we've worked hard all season.
Getting home ice was a goal of ours at the start of the season, and it's a real
positive for us."
The game could have been Wayne Gretzky's final appearance at Reunion Arena.
The league's all-time scoring leader did not figure in the scoring, but he received
an ovation from the sellout crowd when he was shown on the scoreboard midway
through the third period. Gretzky has said he would wait until after the season
to decide about his future in hockey.
Asked after the game about his impressions of the Stars and their chances to
win the Stanley Cup, Gretzky said, "They're as good as anybody in the league.
Their record and their work ethic back that. They have solid defensive play,
good goaltending, and a few great players to take them to another level. They
have all the right ingredients."
Belfour was in control until Mike Knuble ended his bid for his 46th career shutout
early in the third period.
03/31/99
DALLAS 6, TAMPA BAY 4
DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars are on their way to a franchise-best point record.
Not even a bad night can stop them. Joe Nieuwendyk scored the tiebreaking
goal midway through the third period and the Stars went on to a ragged 6-4 victory
over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
"We had as many bad players as good ones," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock."
That was one awful hockey game. We should bundle it up as a ride and sell it
to Disney World."
Stephane Richer scored twice for Tampa Bay, tying the game at 4 with a short-handed
breakaway at 7:14 of the third period, his 10th goal.
But Nieuwendyk answered at 11:10 with his 24th goal on a blast from beyond
the right circle that beat Tampa Bay goalie Corey Schwab, making Dallas 5-1
in its last six games.
The victory gave the league-leading Stars 106 points, three behind last season's
club-record total.
Rookie Brad Lukowich's first NHL goal with 1:11 left extended Dallas' lead to
6-4. Fellow rookie Jon Sim had put the Stars in front 4-3 early in the third
period with his first NHL goal.
Sim, playing in his second NHL game after being called up from the Stars' IHL
farm team in Michigan on March 27, collected Grant Marshall's centering pass
and scored from in front 1:19 into the third period.
The Lightning had rallied from a two-goal deficit on Darcy Tucker's two goals
in the second period. But at the end of the night, it was only another loss
for Tampa Bay, which has 40 points, fewest in the league.
"You can't fault our effort," Lightning coach Jacques Demers said. "We kept
coming back, kept coming back, but on the road you can't give up six goals and
expect to beat anybody, especially a team like Dallas."
Marshall had a goal and two assists and Jere Lehtinen and Jamie Langenbrunner
each had a goal and assist for the Stars.
Lehtinen gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 10:37 of the first period with his 20th goal.
Tampa Bay tied it at 11:44 on Richer's goal. Langenbrunner put the Stars in
front 2-1 at 15:50 with his 12th goal. Marshall added his 12th on a rebound
at 17:37 to extend the Stars' lead to 3-1.
Tampa Bay narrowed the deficit to 3-2 at the 41-second mark of the second period
on Tucker's deflection. Tucker tied it at 3 with his 18th at 13:45 as he threw
the puck at the net and it escaped through goalie Roman Turek's legs.
03/28/99
DALLAS 3, NASHVILLE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Dallas Stars can't ask for much more. They have
their second straight Western Conference title, chemistry is good and their
backup goaltender is playing well.
Roman Turek recorded his second career shutout by stopping 21 shots as Dallas
beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 Sunday night, clinching the conference regular-season
title. For Turek, it was his first shutout this season after giving up only
one goal in six different victories. He also extended his own unbeaten streak
to five games (4-0-1).
"He's played dynamite," said Dallas right wing Pat Verbeek. "Roman's just a
real big board in the net for us."
Turek and Ed Belfour lead the NHL with a team goals-against average of 2.00.
Turek improved his record to 14-2-3 by making big saves early in the third period
on Nashville's Tom Fitzgerald and Sergei Krivokrasov. After the Stars lost 5-1
at Anaheim on Friday night with Belfour in goal, Turek said he was happy that
they bounced back.
"The guys played a very good game tonight. They blocked lots of shots. Nashville
had 21 shots, but maybe only four or five scoring chances," Turek said.
The Predators were sluggish offensively the entire game. They managed only five
shots in the first period and four shots on four power plays. Their best chance
to score came in the third as Cliff Ronning skated through the defense on a
power play but sent his shot wide left.
The win gave the Stars 104 points through 73 games, which second-place Colorado
couldn't match even if it wins all of its remaining games. With nine games left,
Dallas also remains on pace for the best season in franchise history. The Stars
totaled 109 points last season in winning the Presidents' Trophy.
"Our players really wanted to clinch our conference today, and now the schedule
is big-time to our advantage," said Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock, who takes his
team home for six of their remaining games. "We're really looking forward to
that."
Nashville coach Barry Trotz is impressed with the Stars. Said Trotz: "They're
the most consistent night in and night out. They're not off very often. There's
good reason why they've got the best record in the NHL and why they'll win the
Presidents' Trophy."
Joe Nieuwendyk gave Dallas all the scoring it would need at 11:46 of
the first period. Derek Plante added an insurance goal with 5.9 seconds left
in the second period, his first since being obtained by Dallas from Buffalo
at the trading deadline. Mike Modano added his 33rd goal on an empty-netter.
03/12/99
DALLAS 4, ANAHEIM 0
DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars easily passed another test as they cruise toward
what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run.
Joe Nieuwendyk scored two third-period goals and Ed Belfour made 27 saves
for his 44th career shutout as the Stars halted Anaheim's eight-game unbeaten
streak with a 4-0 victory over the Mighty Ducks on Friday night.
"We look forward to playing teams like this," said Stars leading scorer Mike
Modano, who notched his 29th goal. "We like to be able to shut down teams like
that."
The victory, coupled with Calgary's loss to Carolina, clinched a playoff berth
for the Stars.
Dallas has much loftier aspirations, however; the Stars will enter the post-season
as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
"People know it isn't going to be easy against us," Nieuwendyk said.
"Right now we're just trying to fine-tune our game."
The Stars played yet another game without the injured Brett Hull and Darryl
Sydor, two of their top five scorers. Once again, it didn't matter. Belfour
boosted his record to 30-10-8 with his fourth shutout of the season and he was
assisted by strong work from his defense, which kept the Mighty Ducks' dangerous
linemates of Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya scoreless.
Selanne had a club-record point-scoring streak of 17 games ended Friday night,
second-longest in the NHL this season.
"Anytime you can come out even or better against them (Selanne and Kariya),
you're in good shape," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We were able to take
advantage of a couple of mistakes by them."
Modano and Tony Hrkac scored second-period goals, and Nieuwendyk put
the game away with his pair of third-period scores for the Stars, 12-1-2 in
their last 15 games.
The Stars moved to 30 games over .500 (42-12-10) for the first time in the franchise's
32-year history and improved to an NHL-best 94 points.
Anaheim had been one of the league's hottest teams, going 7-0-1 in its previous
eight games before running into the Stars.
"I thought we played well in the first period but we couldn't get anything on
the board," said Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg. "That's why Dallas has 94 points,
because they keep persisting. They're a great team and you've got to match that.
We keep talking about learning and this is a good team to learn from."
03/04/99
DALLAS 3, NY Islanders 2 (OT)
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - The New York Islanders played 64 minutes of solid hockey
against the Dallas Stars, which is a nice performance. It simply wasn't good
enough to avoid another loss.
Joe Nieuwendyk's redirection from the low slot with 47.4 seconds left
in overtime gave the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win Thursday night, and also helped
set a club record with a 10-game road unbeaten streak (8-0-2).
"That's a heck of a hockey club," Islanders coach Bill Stewart said of Dallas.
"They certainly know how to win, and proved it again tonight."
Nieuwendyk said he had to fend off defenseman Zdeno Chara in the corner
to get to the net. At 6-foot-9, Chara is the league's biggest player.
"I was just trying to get to the net with this 7-foot-5 guy beating all over
you as hard as he does," Nieuwendyk said. "It was just a good shift for
us."