Game Recap

DALLAS 4, SAN JOSE 1 DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars might have to survive their first-round playoff series with the San Jose Sharks without top regular-season scorer Joe Nieuwendyk. Nieuwendyk went down with a first-period knee sprain, but the Stars went on to take the opener of their Western Conference series with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night. "Joe's been a big part of our team," said teammate Mike Modano. "He carried us to the No. 1 seed when a lot of guys on our team were injured. But we've had to step up when guys have been hurt all season and now we have to do it again." X-rays of Nieuwendyk's right knee were negative, and results of an MRI would not be available until Thursday morning. Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said, "The best case is he's day-to-day and the worst case is that he could be out three weeks. It could be a lot worse." Nieuwendyk got the Stars' first goal only 2:22 into the game as Dallas scored twice in the opening three minutes. Nieuwendyk took a lead pass from Darryl Sydor, got behind the Sharks' defense for a breakaway and beat Mike Vernon with a wrist shot. But with 4:02 left in the period, Nieuwendyk was knocked out of the game by defenseman Bryan Marchment's check. Nieuwendyk was ridden hard into the corner by Marchment, crashed into the boards and fell, clutching his right knee. He was helped off the ice by teammates. No penalty was called on the play. Hitchcock called the check, "a legitimate hit. It was a hard play and Joe was in a vulnerable position." Earlier this season Marchment, then with the Edmonton Oilers, clipped Modano on a knee-to-knee hit. Modano missed six weeks with a knee injury and Marchment was suspended for three games. Juha Lind made it 2-0 only 37 seconds after Nieuwendyk's goal when he knocked in the rebound of Modano's slap shot. Dallas scored on two of its first three shots. But the Sharks answered at 12:40 when Owen Nolan scored on a slap shot from the top of the left circle. Dallas, which had the NHL's best record this season, pushed its lead to 3-1 at 3:30 of the second period on Derian Hatcher's power-play rebound. Modano's empty-netter with 1.9 seconds left made it 4-1. Stars goalie Ed Belfour stopped 21 shots. San Jose penalties led to nine Dallas power plays. The Stars cashed in on only one, but the power plays set the tone for Dallas. "We took too many foolish penalties," Nolan said. "We were too excited early and had a lot of energy to burn." DALLAS STARS 4, San Jose Sharks 1 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- SAN JOSE 1 0 0 1 DALLAS 2 1 1 4 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Nieuwendyk 1 (Sydor, Zubov), 2:22. 2, Dallas, Lind 1 (Modano, Chambers), 2:59. 3, San Jose, Nolan 1 (Houlder, Ricci), 12:40 (pp). PENALTIES: Marshall, Dal (roughing), :39; Burr, SJ (roughing), :39; Rathje, SJ (tripping), 5:17; Marchment, SJ (roughing), 6:13; Matvichuk, Dal (tripping), 12:26; Ludwig, Dal (holding stick), 13:28; Carbonneau, Dal (roughing), 19:05; Murphy, SJ (interference), 19:29. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 4, Dallas, Hatcher 1 (Modano, Lehtinen), 3:30 (pp). PENALTIES: Nicholls, SJ (boarding), 1:51; Lowry, SJ (holding), 8:14; Sydor, Dal (interference), 8:14; Iafrate, SJ (interference), 10:35; Bassen, Dal (holding), 12:56; Skrudland, Dal (unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:56; Murphy, SJ (hooking), 15:32; Sutter, SJ (hooking), 19:13. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 5, Dallas, Modano 1 (Lind, Lehtinen), 19:58. PENALTIES: Nicholls, SJ (hooking), 5:34; Langenbrunner, Dal (holding), 9:48; Lowry, SJ (elbowing), 13:18; Bassen, Dal (tripping), 16:04. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- SAN JOSE 9 8 5 22 DALLAS 16 7 8 31 POWER PLAY: San Jose 1 of 7; Dallas 1 of 9. GOALIES: San Jose, Vernon 0-1 (30 shots-27 saves). Dallas, Belfour 1-0 (22-21). Referee: Stephen Walkom. Linesmen: Gerard Gauthier, Brian Murphy. A: 16,928 (16,928).