DALLAS 2, ST. LOUIS 1 (OT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Brett Hull, a star for 10 years who scored 527
goals with the St. Louis Blues, helped eliminate his former team
from the playoffs as a setup man. Mike Modano scored on a rebound
of Hull's shot at 2:21 of overtime as the Stars knocked off the
Blues in six games with a 2-1 victory Monday night. Hull also
assisted on Derek Plante's goal late in the third period.
"Brett was really into the game, playing hard," Modano said. "He
was probably hungrier than anybody. He did all the grunt work."
The Blues also were impressed.
"Hull played pretty well," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think
it was his best game of the series."
Throughout the series, Hull maintained he had no special
incentive to beat his former team. He and the Blues parted ways
last summer because the team refused to give him a no-trade
clause, then they ended up giving one to Al MacInnis.
"It's something that I wanted to do, but I'm not going to say
it's more satisfying," Hull said. "But in a situation like this
you've got to take those memories and put them in the back of
your mind and remember that I play for Dallas."
On the game-winner, Hull skated around the net with the puck and
shot a low backhander into Grant Fuhr's skates. Modano was
stymied on his first rebound shot, but the second got through for
his fourth goal and 11th point of the playoffs. Four of the last
five games in the series between the NHL's regular-season
champions, who had 114 points, and the Blues, who had 87, went to
overtime. Each team won twice.
"We were expecting to win the series," Blues center Craig Conroy
said. "It's going to be a long summer thinking about little
things here and there. For a while, this one is going to sting."
The Stars now await the winner of the Colorado-Detroit series in
the Western Conference finals. Colorado leads 3-2.
"We'd love to have another crack at Detroit," Modano said of the
team that beat them in the conference finals last season. "That's
what we're hoping for."
Plante tied it with 6:02 to go in the third-period with his first
point in six playoff games. MacInnis scored his first goal of the
second round on his 29th shot for the Blues, who went to overtime
in seven of their 13 postseason games. St. Louis won four of
them, including a double-overtime victory over Phoenix in Game 7
of the first round.
"I don't think anybody can question the character of this team,
to come back against Phoenix and to battle the best team in the
league," MacInnis said. "I think everybody in this room can
certainly keep their head held high."
Plante tied it with a soft sliding shot that went between
teammate Mike Keane's legs in front of the net before eluding
Fuhr. Fuhr had just righted himself after being accidentally
tripped by MacInnis.
The Blues scored first for the first time in the series. MacInnis
beat Ed Belfour at 6:51 of the second period. With time winding
down in a hooking penalty to the Stars' Joe Nieuwendyk, Pierre
Turgeon won a faceoff and kicked the puck to Jeff Finley, who
moved it along to MacInnis at the right point. His rising slap
shot soared past Belfour for his 12th point of the playoffs.
Dallas Stars 2, ST. LOUIS BLUES 1 (OT)
1ST 2ND 3RD OT FINAL
--- --- --- --- -----
Dallas 0 0 1 1 2
St. Louis 0 1 0 0 1
FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Bartecko, StL
(interference), 3:08; Keane, Dal (interference), 9:35; Turgeon,
StL (slashing), 15:29; Langenbrunner, Dal (goalie interference),
15:58; Pronger, StL (slashing), 18:32.
SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 1, St. Louis, MacInnis 4 (Finley,
Turgeon), 6:51. PENALTIES: Courtnall, StL (interference), 4:09;
Nieuwendyk, Dal (hooking), 4:51.
THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 2, Dallas, Plante 1 (Hull, Sydor), 13:58.
PENALTIES: None.
OVERTIME - SCORING: 3, Dallas, Modano 4 (Hull), 2:21. PENALTIES:
None.
SHOTS ON GOAL
1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
Dallas 10 6 10 1 27
St. Louis 7 12 8 5 32
POWER PLAY: Dallas 0 of 4; St. Louis 0 of 3. GOALIES: Dallas,
Belfour 8-2 (32 shots-31 saves). St. Louis, Fuhr 6-6 (27-25).
Referees: Paul Devorski, Rob Shick. Linesmen: Kevin Collins,
Brian Murphy.
A: 20,355 (19,260).
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