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Tuesday, March 31, 1998

Devils and Stars appear on collision course

By KEN RAPPOPORT AP Hockey Writer

The way the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars have played this season, they just might meet in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Devils and Stars are 1-2 in the NHL's overall standings, separated by only two points following Dallas' 3-1 victory over New Jersey Sunday night.

"I think it would be an exciting series between two teams that grind it out and play hard," said New Jersey's Jason Arnott, thinking ahead to a possible meeting with Dallas in the championship round.

Arnott appeared to be discounting the fact the Stars swept the two-game series from the Devils this season.

"The playoffs are a different story," he said. "Just because they won in the regular season doesn't mean much in the playoffs."

As the NHL season heads into its final weeks, the Devils and Stars are battling for the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record.

The Devils have a 45-19-9 record for 99 points to lead the Eastern Conference. The Stars are tops in the West with a 43-18-11 record for 97 points.

"We match up very well," Dallas center Guy Carbonneau said of the Devils. "It's good to beat a team like that. If we want to win the Stanley Cup, maybe this is the team we'd have to face."

With 10 games remaining, the Stars have a game in hand on the Devils. The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche, who won the Cup two years ago, both have a chance of catching the Devils and Stars for the top record.

The Red Wings (39-20-15) have 93 points and the Avalanche (37-20-16) had 90 prior to Monday night's game at Boston. Detroit has eight games left, and Colorado nine counting the game against the Bruins.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, meanwhile, became the second team in the East behind New Jersey and the fifth overall to clinch a playoff berth with a combination of their 1-1 tie with Ottawa and Carolina's 3-1 loss to Philadelphia Sunday.

Dallas, Detroit and Colorado all clinched earlier in the West.

With a 10-point lead over Pittsburgh, the Devils have virtually clinched the top spot in their conference and home-ice advantage for at least the first three rounds of the playoffs. The remaining playoff positions in the East prior to Monday night belonged to Philadelphia, Montreal, Washington, Boston, Buffalo and Ottawa.

Only Carolina, which was four points out of the eighth and final spot, had a realistic shot at the playoffs among the other East teams.

The top eight in the West were Dallas, Detroit, Colorado, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and Edmonton.

San Jose was a point behind Edmonton, while Calgary and Toronto were five behind the Oilers.