Game Recap

SAN JOSE 4, DALLAS 1 SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - This time it was the Dallas Stars who were sloppy. After criticizing the Sharks for being too rough and undisciplined in the playoffs, the Stars deteriorated in San Jose's 4-1 victory Sunday, narrowing Dallas' advantage in the Western Conference series to 2-1. Dallas goaltender Ed Belfour and team captain Derian Hatcher were ejected after fights in the final minutes, capping two periods of frustrating play for the Stars, who jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Sergei Zubov's goal with a two-man advantage. The Sharks, however, were playing it smart, staying away from mistakes and costly penalties that marked their first two losses in Dallas. "Definitely, frustration sets in toward the end of the game when we can't play our game," Belfour said. "It was probably somewhat like the last game in Dallas. We were taking it. And tonight it was probably a little more frustration." With 1:33 left, Belfour jumped on Sharks forward Shawn Burr and hit him, prompting both teams to go at it. Another fight between the teams broke out just seconds later. Belfour and Hatcher were forced to leave the game, and three other players were assessed 10-minute misconduct penalties. "I came behind (teammate Marcus) Ragnarsson, trying to set myself up and get a score. The group started to bunch up, and that's when all heck broke lose," Burr said. "For them it must be a horrible sign of frustration to get into one of these battles with us." The tape of the incident will be sent to Brian Burke, the league's director of hockey operations, for review. "Eddie snapped," Dallas defenseman Craig Ludwig said. "Eddie's a very intense goaltender and obviously he didn't like what he saw out there." "It wasn't snapping," Belfour said, "They haven't seen snapping." The Sharks were penalized 21 times for 72 minutes in Friday's 5-2 loss. On Sunday, the Stars were penalized 20 times for 75 minutes. Dallas gave the Sharks 14 power-play opportunities, three of which resulted in goals. Owen Nolan screamed after beating Belfour with a quick wrist shot from the slot with 6:13 gone in the second period, as Dallas center Bob Bassen served a penalty for high-sticking. It was first time the Sharks had taken a lead in the playoff series. Nolan's goal, his second of the playoffs, came just 1:07 after John MacLean scored to tie the game at 1-1. Al Iafrate and Mike Rathje had the other Sharks goals and Mike Vernon made 13 saves. SAN JOSE SHARKS 4, Dallas Stars 1 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- DALLAS 1 0 0 1 SAN JOSE 0 2 2 4 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Zubov 1 (Reid, Verbeek), 4:16 (pp). PENALTIES: Chambers, Dal (tripping), 1:45; MacLean, SJ (hooking), 2:42; Ricci, SJ (hooking), 3:22; Lowry, SJ (interference), 6:21; Carbonneau, Dal (hooking), 14:06; Ludwig, Dal (tripping), 16:23; Matvichuk, Dal (elbowing), 17:33. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 2, San Jose, MacLean 1 (Murphy, Ricci), 5:06. 3, San Jose, Nolan 2 (Marleau, Houlder), 6:13 (pp). PENALTIES: Murphy, SJ (interference), 2:56; Bassen, Dal (high-sticking), 5:41; Chambers, Dal (elbowing), 8:04; Nicholls, SJ (hooking), 10:36; Marshall, Dal (holding), 13:28; Zyuzin, SJ (holding), 13:39; Sydor, Dal (roughing), 13:39; Verbeek, Dal (slashing), 19:17; Ludwig, Dal (cross-checking), 19:27. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 4, San Jose, Iafrate 1 (Nicholls, MacLean), 1:04 (pp). 5, San Jose, Rathje 1 (MacLean, Ricci), 16:55 (pp). PENALTIES: Chambers, Dal (cross-checking), 8:43; D.Hatcher, Dal (cross-checking), 11:24; Skrudland, Dal (slashing), 14:59; Bassen, Dal (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:46; Marshall, Dal, misconduct, 17:46; Belfour, Dal, minor-match (roughing), 18:27; Chambers, Dal, misconduct, 18:27; R.Sutter, SJ, minor-misconduct (roughing), 18:27; Lowry, SJ, misconduct, 18:27; D.Hatcher, Dal, major-game misconduct (high-sticking), 19:49; Iafrate, SJ (slashing), 19:49. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- DALLAS 7 6 1 14 SAN JOSE 7 8 10 25 POWER PLAY: Dallas 1 of 6; San Jose 3 of 13. GOALIES: Dallas, Belfour 2-1 (25 shots-21 saves), Fernandez (18:27 third period, 0-0). San Jose, Vernon 1-2 (14-13). Referee: Mark Faucette. Linesmen: Tim Nowak, Mike Cvik. A-17,483 (17,483).