PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Monday, March 23, 1998

Stars 0, Penguins 0

DALLAS (AP) - Their styles of play have made the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins first place.

Defense is what the teams do best, and on Sunday they played the sixth scoreless tie in the NHL this season.

"Each team plays the same way, which is tight-checking hockey," said Stars center Joe Nieuwendyk, who had an apparent third-period goal disallowed on video replay. "Nobody wanted to open it up so what you saw was good goaltending and solid positional play."

Dallas, leading the Central Division, had won its previous four games. The Stars improved their league-leading point total to 95 - two better than the New Jersey Devils - despite missing six regulars due to injuries.

Pittsburgh, the leader in the Northeast, is 4-1-1 in its last six games. The Penguins were especially happy with the tie because they had to travel after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

"Considering the travel odyssey we faced, it was a good point," Penguins coach Kevin Constantine said. "Dallas is a great team. They play real patient and wait for you to make a mistake, so we wanted to play a smart game."

The Penguins last scoreless draw came this season on Jan. 20 against Ottawa. The Stars' previous 0-0 game was on Feb. 24, 1994, against Los Angeles.

Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso made 28 saves for his seventh shutout. Dallas' Ed Belfour needed 20 stops for his ninth shutout, extending the Stars single-season record.

Dallas' Jamie Langenbrunner had the best scoring chance of the overtime but Barrasso stopped his backhander from in front with 2:10 left.

"I was just trying to take up space," Barrasso said of his save on Langenbrunner. "I was fortunate to get a good look at the puck and get in the way."

The Stars thought they'd taken the lead with 12:42 left in a scoreless game, but replay showed that Nieuwendyk kicked the puck into the net. Nieuwendyk thought the puck glanced in off a Pittsburgh defenseman's stick, but he didn't argue with the decision.

Each team managed only four shots on goal in a cautious first period. The Penguins didn't get their first attempt on net until there was 10:45 left in the opening period.

Both goalies were sharp in the second period, with Belfour stopping Jaromir Jagr on a breakaway with 2:41 remaining.

"I thought he was going to try to deke me," said Belfour. "But he saw the blocker side open, shot it there, and I was able to get a piece of it."