Game Recap

EDMONTON 2, DALLAS 0 DALLAS (AP) - "Cujo" has the Dallas Stars' number again. And it's zero. Edmonton's Curtis Joseph, who shut out Dallas in Game 2 last season, did the same thing to the Stars on Saturday night, stopping 15 shots, including 11 in the third period, as the Oilers prevailed 2-0 to square the Western Conference semifinal at one game apiece. "They had a lot of chances in the third period and I really had to tighten my concentration," said Joseph, who did not face his first shot until the second period. Game 3 of the best-of-7 series will be in Edmonton on Monday night. Top-seeded Dallas won the first game 3-1 Thursday night against the seventh-seeded Oilers. "Our defense wasn't very good in Game 1," Oilers coach Ron Low said. "Tonight, we shut them down in the neutral zone. It was tight checking game. Tonight, I don't know if Curtis had four tough saves. We just played well in our own end." Joseph, who registered shutouts in the final two games of the first-round series with Colorado, robbed Pat Verbeek and Greg Adams on point blank shots in the third period as the Dallas offense awakened too late. "Everything we tried was either blocked or deflected by Joseph," Dallas' Mike Modano said. "We've got to make some adjustments. We're embarrassed. We let each other down. We have to bounce back and play together as a team, something we have done all season after a bad game." "We were outplayed in the first two periods. That's as much as we've been outplayed here all year," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We had a difficult time with their tenacity and desperation. They were on top of us the first two periods with their forecheck and we couldn't get anything started." Edmonton got the only goal it needed in the second period. Doug Weight hit an out-of-position Ed Belfour on the left hip on a rebound shot and the puck fell into the net with 3:54 to go in the second period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal came with one second remaining during a 5-on-3 situation. Richard Matvichuk and Derian Hatcher were both in the penalty box for two-minute minors. The besieged Belfour knocked away three shots but Weight was in perfect position just outside the crease for the rebound that rolled his way. The Stars pulled Belfour with 50 seconds left and Rem Murray of the Oilers scored an empty-net goal with 10.7 seconds left. Edmonton thoroughly outplayed the Stars in the first period and got off 12 shots against Belfour. Dallas didn't have a shot on goal, only the second time since 1968 that a team failed to record a shot on goal in a period in a Stanley Cup playoff game. "I don't remember any period where I didn't face a shot before," Joseph said. "That was the epitome of team defense." Edmonton Oilers 2, DALLAS STARS 0 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- EDMONTON 0 1 1 2 DALLAS 0 0 0 0 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Mironov, Edm (roughing), 1:08; Ludwig, Dal (roughing), 6:26; de Vries, Edm (tripping), 13:35; Niinimaa, Edm (tripping), 15:36; Verbeek, Dal (holding stick), 16:05. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Edmonton, Weight 2 (Hamrlik, Guerin), 16:06 (pp). PENALTIES: Weight, Edm (high-sticking), 6:21; Smyth, Edm (interference), 9:30; Buchberger, Edm (tripping), 11:41; Matvichuk, Dal (hooking), 14:08; Hatcher, Dal (roughing), 15:02. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 2, Edmonton, Murray 1 (Zelepukin), 19:49 (en). PENALTIES: None. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- EDMONTON 12 7 2 21 DALLAS 0 4 11 15 POWER PLAY: Edmonton 1 of 4; Dallas 0 of 6. GOALIES: Edmonton, Joseph 5-4 (15 shots-15 saves). Dallas, Belfour 5-3 (20-19). Referee: Terry Gregson. Linesmen: Wayne Bonney, Brad Lazarowich. A-16,928 (16,928).