Game Recap

DALLAS 1, ST. LOUIS 1 (OT) DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars' penalty killers bailed out captain Derian Hatcher. Two third-period penalties against Hatcher on the same play gave St. Louis a seven-minute power play. But the Blues were unable to capitalize and the Stars held on to preserve a 1-1 tie Sunday night. With the game tied at 1, the penalties against Hatcher gave the Blues their best scoring chance of the night with 11:33 left in regulation. Hatcher, who also was given a game misconduct, received a two-minute penalty for charging Reid Simpson. The hard-hitting 6-foot-5 defenseman also was tagged with a five-minute penalty for elbowing Jeff Finley after the delayed penalty for charging had been called. Hatcher checked two other Blues on the play before Dallas gained possession. But St. Louis was able to muster only three shots during the extended power play. Dallas actually had the best scoring opportunity during the penalty kill, but Blues_ goaltender Roman Turek stopped Mike Modano's short-handed breakaway attempt with 7:37 left in regulation. After he was ejected, Hatcher went to the Stars locker room where he watched the penalty kill while riding an exercise bike. "It was great to see the way they responded," Hatcher said. "(The Blues) had a few chances, but not a whole lot." The Stars picked up their energy level during the Blues_ power play and Dallas' penalty killers received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd after the fans counted down the final seconds of the seven minutes. "The fans really got into it," Stars' penalty killer Kirk Muller said. "That was basically the game right there. It was a playoff atmosphere. We dug down and got the job done." Stars' goaltender Ed Belfour made 28 saves, including a key stop on Bryce Salvador from in front of the net with five seconds left in overtime. Belfour covered the puck with his body before it crossed the goal line to preserve the tie. "It was a long five seconds," Salvador said. "I tried to one-time it, push it in. I thought it was in, but he got a pad on it. I still think it was in." Keith Tkachuk scored the tying goal on a power play for the Blues 13:37 into the first period, after Joe Nieuwendyk had given Dallas a 1-0 lead just 3:03 earlier. The Stars are 5-0-2 in their last seven games and are one point from clinching their fifth consecutive playoff berth. Dallas has reached the Stanley Cup final in each of the past two seasons, winning the Cup in 1999. Dallas extended its lead in the Pacific Division to 12 points over San Jose. DALLAS STARS 1, St. Louis Blues 1 (OT) 1ST 2ND 3RD OT FINAL --- --- --- --- ----- St. Louis 1 0 0 0 1 Dallas 1 0 0 0 1 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Nieuwendyk 25 (Marshall, Morrow), 10:34. 2, St. Louis, Tkachuk 32 (MacInnis, Young), 13:37 (pp). PENALTIES: Donato, Dal (roughing), 1:49; Khavanov, StL (interference), 6:11; Marshall, Dal (roughing), 12:56. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Morrow, Dal (roughing), 3:33; Salvador, StL (roughing), 3:33; Simpson, StL, misconduct, 3:33; Marshall, Dal, misconduct, 3:33; Hatcher, Dal (slashing), 7:20; Gusarov, StL (tripping), 9:22. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Eastwood, StL (hooking), 2:19; Hatcher, Dal, minor-major-misconduct (charging, elbowing), 8:27. OVERTIME - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: None. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- St. Louis 13 4 9 3 29 Dallas 10 7 9 1 27 POWER PLAY: St. Louis 1 of 5; Dallas 0 of 3. GOALIES: St. Louis, Turek 22-16-9 (27 shots-26 saves). Dallas, Belfour 31-20-7 (29-28). Referees: Terry Gregson, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Dan McCourt, Mark Wheler. A: 17,001 (17,001).