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Thursday, May 21, 1998

Dallas faces Detroit in Western Conference Finals

By C. BRYSON HULL / Associated Press Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- The top-seeded Dallas Stars say they're looking forward to facing the defending champion Detroit Red Wings for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

"I think it'd be great for hockey, just to have your champ from the year before and the number one team this year," Stars center Mike Modano said of the Western Conference series, which starts Sunday.

The teams are sure to pick up where they left off on April 15, when Dallas beat the Wings 3-1 behind strong penalty killing and a solid performance from goalie Ed Belfour, who stopped 44 shots. That game marked the first time the Stars beat the Wings this season.

The Wings went 2-1-2 against the Stars this season, but playoff hockey is a different story. The Stars come in with Belfour's hot goaltending: He has a league-leading 1.41 goals-against average and a third-best .937 save percentage. However, he is 14-24-7 lifetime against the Red Wings.

Detroit's Chris Osgood, meanwhile, has a .905 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average in the playoffs. But his lifetime record against the Stars is 13-2-3 -- and he plays behind a churning offense led by Sergei Fedorov, who is $12 million richer now that the Wings have made it to the conference finals.

Fedorov leads all playoff scorers with eight goals and six assists, and four fellow Wings join him on the playoff scoring leaders list. By contrast, Modano, with three goals and seven assists, is the only Star on the list.

The Stars likely will need to step up their offense, having scored only nine goals in five games against the Edmonton Oilers. The Wings scored six goals in a game twice against the Blues.

While both teams overcame injuries during the playoffs, some Stars players still are hurt and can use the week of rest they earned after eliminating the Oilers in five games.

But Stars coach Ken Hitchcock isn't certain whether the break is a gift or a curse.

"The older players take advantage of it and it really benefits them," Hitchcock said. "I think what you're hopeful of is that the younger guys don't drift off mentally."

Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference final matches the fourth-seeded Washington Capitals and the seventh-seeded Buffalo Sabres. Both teams rose to the conference final after first-round upsets of the top three teams.