Game Recap

DALLAS 2, COLORADO 2 (OT) DALLAS (AP) - Ed Belfour and Patrick Roy were even on this night. "Both goaltenders were good and they had to be. They were also lucky at times," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said after the Stars and Colorado Avalanche played to a 2-2 tie Wednesday night. The penalty-filled season opener matched the league's best goalies and the teams that played in the last two Western Conference finals. Belfour stopped 26 Colorado shots while Roy, who remains four wins shy of breaking the NHL record for career victories, had 19 saves. Dallas had four other shots hit the goalposts. "Both made some great saves. You can't ask any more of those guys," said Mike Modano, who had a goal and an assist for the Stars. While the goalies stood out, neither team was able to take advantage of numerous power-play opportunities. The Avs were 1-for-10 on the power play and Dallas was 1-for-9. "That was an exciting game, lots of shots and lots of power plays," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "It gives both teams a chance to showcase their power plays, and both goalies made some great saves." There were 21 penalties, 11 against Dallas, in a game that underscored the league's commitment to call the game more closely. Penalties that carried over from the third period into overtime, kept the teams away from the 4-on-4 extra-session format until there was only 2:54 remaining. Dallas won both of the Western finals in seven games, including a series-deciding 3-2 victory on the same ice four months ago. Colorado tied it at 2 on Adam Deadmarsh's power-play goal 18:31 into the second period. Deadmarsh took a centering pass from Chris Drury and pushed it inside the right post over Belfour's glove. Roy never had a chance on the first goal, having been screened by a teammate on Sergei Zubov's shot 12:40 in. The Stars then converted while enjoying a two-man advantage at the end of the first period, when Modano's slap shot hit the net just as the final horn sounded. It wasn't 2-0 until the goal was confirmed by a replay official. Shjon Podein's hard shot just a minute into the second period was deflected by Belfour, but a minute later Podein scored on a centering pass from Stephane Yelle to make it 2-1. It appeared Dallas had a 3-1 lead on Brett Hull's drive 2:53 into the second period, less than a minute after Colorado's first score, but the shot bounded off the left post. The crowd began cheering and the horn went off, but play continued. A replay confirmed that the puck did not go in. DALLAS STARS 2, Colorado Avalanche 2 (OT) 1ST 2ND 3RD OT FINAL --- --- --- --- ----- Colorado 0 2 0 0 2 Dallas 2 0 0 0 2 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Zubov 1 (Modano, Lehtinen), 12:40. 2, Dallas, Modano 1 (Sydor), 19:59 (pp). PENALTIES: Drury, Col (hooking), 2:14; Klemm, Col (roughing), 12:06; Keane, Dal (roughing), 12:06; Matvichuk, Dal (holding), 14:17; Dallas bench, served by Hull (too many men), 16:38; Colorado bench, served by Hinote (too many men), 17:36; Foote, Col (tripping), 19:31. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 3, Colorado, Podein 1 (Yelle, Hinote), 2:00. 4, Colorado, Deadmarsh 1 (Drury), 18:41 (pp). PENALTIES: Helenius, Dal (holding stick), 3:09; Zubov, Dal (hooking), 5:07; Jackman, Dal (tripping), 10:56; Forsberg, Col (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:07; Lehtinen, Dal (slashing), 17:53; Bourque, Col (tripping), 19:20; Podein, Col (charging), 19:49. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Hatcher, Dal (holding stick), 2:41; Yelle, Col (tripping), 4:42; Marshall, Dal (interference), 4:56; Sakic, Col (slashing), 13:34; Morrow, Dal (goalie interference), 15:20; Sakic, Col (holding), 16:36; Hatcher, Dal (elbowing), 19:20. OVERTIME - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: None. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- Colorado 10 8 8 2 28 Dallas 7 4 7 3 21 POWER-PLAY: Colorado 1 of 10; Dallas 1 of 9. GOALIES: Colorado, Roy 0-0-1 (21 shots-19 saves). Dallas, Belfour 0-0-1 (28-26). Referees: Dan O'Halloran, Mark Faucette. Linesmen: Mark Pare, Dan O'Rourke. A: 17,001 (17,001).