Sunday, Apr. 15 8:00pm ET
Oilers rally late, but fall short in OT
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BOX SCORE
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Benoit Hogue is still haunting the
Edmonton Oilers.
|  | | Edmonton's Igor Ulanov upends Mike Keane along the boards. |
Hogue scored with 12 seconds left in the first overtime as the
Dallas Stars beat Edmonton 3-2 Sunday night in Game 3 of their
first-round playoff series.
Hogue, signed as a free agent in January, scored the winner on
his only shot of the game when he knocked the rebound of a shot by
Brett Hull past Edmonton goalie Tommy Salo.
"I went wide and then cut right to the middle and just put it
in," said Hogue, who also scored an overtime winner to give the
Stars a 2-1 series lead when the teams met in the 1998 playoffs.
Dallas, a 2-1 overtime winner in the first game, leads the
Western Conference quarterfinal series 2-1. Game 4 of the
best-of-seven series is Tuesday in Edmonton.
"He always seems to come up with something interesting and
special," said Stars captain Mike Modano, who had a power-play
goal in the third period and assisted on Sergei Zubov's goal in the
first period. "He seems to play well here.
"It's nice to see a guy like that, who has been through what he
has been through, come out and make a big impact like that."
Hogue was not even playing hockey when he was signed by the
Stars.
A healthy scratch for the first two games of the series, Hogue
was on the ice for his 13th shift when he followed Hull's rush.
"Every time you play in overtime, you play to win," said
Hogue, who missed three games late in the season due to a bruised
shoulder.
The goal negated an astonishing comeback by the Oilers, who got
goals from Ryan Smyth and Rem Murray in the final 63 seconds of
regulation to send the game in overtime.
"Coming back and tying it and giving ourselves life and hope in
the series and to lose it is devastating," Oilers coach Craig
MacTavish said.
"Happiness and heartache -- that pretty much spells NHL playoff
hockey. We got the latter tonight."
The key, according to Hogue, was the Stars' ability to stay
composed when Edmonton scored two late goals.
"They had the momentum on their side," Hogue said. "We came
back in and talked about it, and said we were going to play our
game."
Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said it would have been a shame if
the Stars had lost after playing a solid hockey for 59 minutes.
"If we wouldn't have had such an experienced club we would have
crumbled," Hitchcock said. "I don't think any team, unless it has
been through this type of adversity before, would be able to handle
that emotional rollercoaster."
Stars veteran Mike Keane conceded the Oilers' late rally was
reminiscent of 1997 when they scored three goals in the final
minutes to tie and won in overtime en route to upsetting the Stars
in seven games.
"It's always a fun series against Edmonton," said Keane.
"Better not leave your seats early."
The Stars outshot the Oilers 40-28, with both teams getting 10
shots in OT.
Late in the third, Stars goalie Ed Belfour wandered out of the
crease to play the puck in a corner but was checked by Georges
Laraque, who got the puck out to Smyth for an easy shot into an
open net at 18:57.
With Salo pulled in favor of an extra skater, Murray deflected a
shot by Eric Brewer with seven seconds left.
Zubov opened the scoring 3:06 into the game when he one-timed a
pass from Modano.
In the third period, with Dallas on a power play, Jamie
Langenbrunner picked up the puck along the left boards and slid a
pass across the front of the net to Modano, who beat Salo at 5:51.
Game notes
Stars center Joe Nieuwendyk will be out seven to 10 days
with a strained knee. He was injured in Game 2 on a hit by Oilers
defenseman Scott Ferguson. ... Edmonton defenseman Jason Smith took
eight stitches to his mouth early in the overtime after being hit
by the puck in the face. He was stitched up in the hallway and
returned midway through overtime. ... Josh Green, picked up by the
Oilers in as off-season deal for Roman Hamrlik, got his first start
after being injured all season.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Edmonton Clubhouse
Oilers-Stars Series Page
Stars' Nieuwendyk could miss rest of first-round series
RECAPS
New Jersey 2
Carolina 0
Dallas 3
Edmonton 2
Los Angeles 2
Detroit 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Benoit Hogue puts the rebound past Tommy Salo to win Game 3 in overtime for Dallas.
avi: 1246 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rem Murray tips in the Eric Brewster shot to send the game into overtime.
avi: 1359 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ed Belfour leaves the net open for Ryan Smyth, who deposits the pass from Georges Laraque for a score.
avi: 1074 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sergei Zubov fires the puck past Tommy Salo for a score.
avi: 663 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jamie Langenbrunner finds Mike Modano, who scores a power-play goal.
avi: 943 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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