Game Recap

ST. LOUIS 3, DALLAS 2 (OT) ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Blues are loving life on the tightrope after beating the Dallas Stars two straight games in overtime. Pierre Turgeon stole a clearing pass and scored at 5:52 of the extra period as the underdog Blues beat the Stars, 3-2, to even the Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece Wednesday night. "He made a great play getting through when the space was open," said right wing Scott Young, whose forechecking on defenseman Sergei Zubov forced the play. "Just to hear the crowd erupt is a great feeling." It was the third straight overtime in the series and the Blues' sixth overtime in 11 playoff games. They've won four of them. "We don't want to be in that situation too often," Turgeon said. "We'd like to be ahead a few goals, but this is going to happen in the playoffs. It's always tight and there aren't many scoring chances." Turgeon picked off Zubov's clearing effort near the center line. He skated into the slot before beating Ed Belfour with a high wrist shot, his ninth shot of the game, for his fourth goal and 11th point of the playoffs. Zubov wouldn't talk about the play, but his coach was critical. "You can't have that," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He knows it, we all know it. There was nobody there. The lane was up the wall. It was wide open. As a matter of fact, if we get it up the wall, it would have been a 3-on-2." But fellow defenseman Richard Matvichuk defended Zubov. "Everybody makes mistakes," Matvichuk said. "If there were no mistakes made, every game would be 0-0. You can't blame anybody." In the first round, Turgeon's overtime goal clinched the Blues' series win in Game 7 over Phoenix. This one gave them confidence heading into Game 5 Saturday night in Dallas. "I'm tired, but I'm excited," Blues center Craig Conroy said. "It's like starting all over again." The Stars prevailed in Game 2 on Joe Nieuwendyk's second goal of the game, and the Blues answered with Pavol Demitra's goal at 2:43 of overtime in Game 3 Monday night, also a 3-2 victory. Rookie Jochen Hecht and Geoff Courtnall also scored for the Blues. St. Louis was only one game above .500 in the regular season at home, but has won both home games against the Stars, the NHL's regular-season champions. Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who had won all six of their playoff games before coming to St. Louis. Modano emerged from a two-game funk during which he totaled one shot and Lehtinen rebounded nicely after missing the last half of Game 3 with a knee injury. Dallas continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-5 for a league-worst 3-for-43 overall in the playoffs. The Stars missed a chance to take the lead with 5:36 to go when Pat Verbeek's apparent goal was disallowed because Jamie Langenbrunner's skate was in the crease. "It's either a goal or it's not," Verbeek said. "We have to live with what the rules are now. Those are the breaks." ST. LOUIS BLUES 3, Dallas Stars 2 (OT) 1ST 2ND 3RD OT FINAL --- --- --- --- ----- Dallas 1 0 1 0 2 St. Louis 0 2 0 1 3 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Modano 3 (Lehtinen, Ludwig), :59. PENALTIES: Ludwig, Dal (cross-checking), 4:44; Keane, Dal (slashing), 5:20; Finley, StL (slashing), 8:28; Demitra, StL (roughing), 16:08; Hogue, Dal (roughing), 19:00. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 2, St. Louis, Hecht 2 (Demitra, Handzus), 5:02. 3, St. Louis, Courtnall 2 (Young, MacInnis), 7:41 (pp). PENALTIES: Zubov, Dal (slashing), 6:12; Hatcher, Dal (slashing), 7:41; Pronger, StL (holding), 10:28; Belfour, Dal, served by Langenbrunner (interference), 11:16; Pronger, StL (roughing), 13:25. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 4, Dallas, Lehtinen 4 (Modano, Zubov), :40. PENALTIES: MacInnis, StL (ob.-holding stick), 4:16; Sydor, Dal (tripping), 5:42. OVERTIME - SCORING: 5, St. Louis, Turgeon 4, 5:52. PENALTIES: None. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- Dallas 6 10 5 4 25 St. Louis 10 8 9 3 30 POWER PLAY: Dallas 0 of 5; St. Louis 1 of 7. GOALIES: Dallas, Belfour, 6-2 (30 shots-27 saves). St. Louis, Fuhr 6-4 (25-23). Referees: Mark Faucette, Don Van Massenhoven. Linesmen: Ray Scapinello, Gord Broseker. A: 20,341 (19,260).