Game Recap

DALLAS 3, COLORADO 2 DALLAS (AP) - When their three-goal lead was chopped to one, the Dallas Stars focused on what they do best: smothering defense. That return to basics, some great saves by Ed Belfour and a friendly bounce off the right post in the closing seconds gave Dallas a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals Saturday night. "It was an unbelievable series," Stars forward Brett Hull said. "It could have gone either way. I'm just thankful we got kind of lucky at the end and held on." The defending Stanley Cup champions will open the Finals Tuesday night in New Jersey. The Devils overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals. Every game in this series was tight until the Stars threatened to make this one a rout. Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano scored on the power play in the first period, then Roman Lyashenko blindly deflected in a shot with his backside early in the second period. Dallas was 10-0 this postseason when taking a lead into the third period, so the only question left seemed to be whether Belfour could hold the shutout. But then Peter Forsberg scored a shorthanded goal 5:25 into the final period. Three minutes later, Milan Hejduk redirected a shot by Ray Bourque past Belfour, reviving the tension that had been missing since the first period. "We made a game of it," Colorado's Adam Deadmarsh said. The Avs only got three more shots at Belfour before pulling goalie Patrick Roy for a sixth attacker with 1:20 left. They failed to punch it in on a good flurry in front of the net with 21.2 seconds to go, then Bourque fired a shot that Deadmarsh deflected. It hit Belfour and clanged off the right post with eight seconds left. "I tried to get my body over there," Belfour said. "It hit me on the hip and it was like slow motion as it went toward the post." Said Bourque: "I didn't see it, but I heard it hit the post." The Stars knocked the puck to the other end of the ice, triggering a postgame celebration that was filled with as much relief as joy. "There's so much pressure to perform," Modano said. "As you get older, you turn that into a positive and try to have fun with it." This was the second straight year the Stars and Avs have fought to a winner-plays-for-the-Cup finale. Dallas won last year's duel 4-1. This was the third straight year Colorado was eliminated in a seventh game, and the fourth straight time Roy has lost a Game 7. He's allowed 16 goals in those games. "We played good enough in this series to win," forward Dave Andreychuk said. "We didn't get the bounces, especially in this game. It's hard to explain the way the bounces go." The Stars blew a chance to end the series in Game 6, although they knew the 2-1 loss was one of their best performances of the postseason. They seemed to pick up where they left off by scoring on their first two power play chances. Colorado never overcame that, ending its near-storybook quest to get Bourque the first championship of his 20-year career. He agreed to a trade from Boston in hopes of helping a team make a run at the Cup. His arrival sparked the Avs down the stretch and gave them a rallying point in the playoffs. "I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat," said Bourque, who had a goal and an assist in the Game 6 victory. "We had a good run, but anything short of the Finals was not going to be good enough." In the end, the storyline that played out best was the challenge between Belfour and Roy. Belfour said late in the season that he was as good as Roy or better, then backed it up in this series. Although Roy had two shutouts, Belfour never allowed more than two goals in a game and was a steadying influence for his team. Dallas fans cast their ballot by chanting "Ed-die's bet-ter!" in the final period. "I'm not a cocky guy, I never have been," said Belfour, who improved to 4-0 in Game 7s and has won his last eight games following a loss. "But I am confident in my ability." The Avs, 0-for-3 on Saturday, failed to score on their final 17 power plays of the series. Belfour improved to 9-1 in elimination games for the Stars. He also has won 11 of his last 12 playoff games in Reunion Arena dating to last season's Finals. Belfour made 31 saves while Roy had 26 on Saturday. DALLAS STARS 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- Colorado 0 0 2 2 Dallas 2 1 0 3 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Zubov 2 (Modano, Sydor), 6:36 (pp). 2, Dallas, Modano 9 (Matvichuk, Zubov), 19:54 (pp). PENALTIES: Foote, Col (hooking), 4:58; Manson, Dal (interference), 13:34; Belfour, Dal, served by Thornton (interference), 16:50; Andreychuk, Col (roughing), 19:44. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: 3, Dallas, Lyashenko 2 (Keane, Hatcher), 5:31. PENALTIES: Forsberg, Col (tripping), 11:31; Morrow, Dal (roughing), 17:07. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 4, Colorado, Forsberg 7 (Drury, Foote), 5:25 (sh). 5, Colorado, Hejduk 5 (Bourque, Drury), 8:26. PENALTIES: Bourque, Col (holding), 4:22. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- Colorado 6 16 11 33 Dallas 18 9 2 29 POWER PLAY: Colorado 0 of 3; Dallas 2 of 4. GOALIES: Colorado, Roy 11-6 (29 shots-26 saves). Dallas, Belfour 12-5 (33-31). Referees: Bill McCreary, Terry Gregson. Linesmen: Ray Scapinello, Dan Schachte. A: 17,001 (17,001).