Game Recap

SAN JOSE 1, DALLAS 0 (OT) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - It was the greatest goal of San Jose Sharks defenseman Andrei Zyuzin's rookie season, and he didn't even see it. Zyuzin's goal with 6:31 gone in overtime sent the underdog San Jose Sharks to a 1-0 victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Stars and evened their first-round Western Conference playoff series at 2-2. Zyuzin's hard shot, off a pass from Bernie Nicholls, sailed past Stars goaltender Ed Belfour, who faced 23 San Jose shots. "All I saw was that the light went on. I didn't even see it go in because there were so many players skating about," said Zyuzin, who just turned 20 in January. "Nicholls was responsible for getting me a great pass." Stars assistant Rick Wilson didn't think Belfour saw the goal, either. "The puck had eyes and found its way in," Wilson said. Sharks goalie Mike Vernon stopped 26 shots for his first playoff shutout since last season with the Stanley Cup-winning Detroit Red Wings. It was his sixth career shutout in the playoffs. The eighth-seeded Sharks, who finished 31 points behind the NHL-leading Stars during the regular season, now have the opportunity to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series when it picks up with Game 5 in Dallas on Thursday night. They lost the first two games of the series in Dallas before coming home to San Jose. "After we got down 2-0, we were in the same position we had been in all year, behind the eight-ball," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said. "We were not considered a threat." It was the 27th 1-0 overtime game in Stanley Cup playoff history. The Stars were also the victims the last time it happened, losing to the Edmonton Oilers on April 25, 1997. The Sharks did not win a single game in overtime all season. It was the first time San Jose had ever hosted an overtime playoff game. Both teams kept it relatively clean, with just four penalties called -- three against the Stars and just one against the Sharks. SAN JOSE SHARKS 1, Dallas Stars 0 (OT) 1ST 2ND 3RD OT FINAL --- --- --- --- ----- DALLAS 0 0 0 0 0 SAN JOSE 0 0 0 1 1 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Lehtinen, Dal (interference), 18:29. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Modano, Dal (tripping), 5:12. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Hatcher, Dal (holding), 7:35; Ricci, SJ (interference), 15:14. OVERTIME - SCORING: 1, San Jose, Zyuzin 1 (Nicholls), 6:31. PENALTIES: None. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- DALLAS 6 8 10 2 26 SAN JOSE 12 7 2 2 23 POWER PLAY: Dallas 0 of 2; San Jose 0 of 3. GOALIES: Dallas, Belfour 2-2 (23 shots-22 saves). San Jose, Vernon 2-2 (26-26). Referee: Bil McCreary. Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Swede Knox. A: 17,483 (17,483).