Saturday, Apr. 21 7:00pm ET
Nieuwendyk leaves Oilers hurting
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Joe Nieuwendyk, slowed by a knee
injury, was healthy enough to lead the Dallas Stars into the
Western Conference semifinals.
Nieuwendyk returned from a knee injury and scored with 2:53 left
to lead the Stars to a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on
Saturday night.
|  | | Not even his Dallas teammates knew if Joe Nieuwendyk would play in Saturday's Game 6, but the center returned and got the game-winner past Tommy Salo. |
Nieuwendyk, hurt in a knee-on-knee collision with Edmonton's
Scott Ferguson in Game 2 of the series, broke a 1-1 tie at 17:07 of
the third, and Mike Modano added an empty-net goal with 44 seconds
remaining as the Stars won the first-round series 4-2. It was the fourth straight season the Stars have eliminated the Oilers in the playoffs.
Nieuwendyk had limited mobility, but had hoped to win a few
faceoffs and perhaps get an opportunity to help the Stars.
"I just tried to concentrate on keeping the game simple, trying
to be good defensively and win my faceoffs," Nieuwendyk said. "I
was hoping for a few opportunities and I got one."
Brett Hull, who tied it 1-1 at 8:57 of the third, set up
Nieuwendyk at the Edmonton blue line for a shot that beat goalie
Tommy Salo between the pads.
"It was huge," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We all knew
if this was a regular-season game he wouldn't have been around."
Nieuwendyk's presence in the lineup provided an immediate boost
for the Stars.
"Probably two-thirds of the team didn't know he was going to
play until we got to the rink," Dallas' Kirk Muller said. "He
skates this morning, gets an opportunity to play and gets a big
goal."
Nieuwendyk sustained a ligament sprain in his collision with
Ferguson and never tried to skate until Saturday morning when he
went out with Gerald Diduck. His goal through Salo's legs was his
only shot in the game.
Ferguson wasn't surprised that it was Nieuwendyk that scored the
winning goal.
"He has been known to do that before where he came back from an
injury and played through pain," Ferguson said. "There's a reason
why he's a premier player in this league. He plays through pain and
you have to give him credit for that."
Edmonton winger Ryan Smyth, who scored the Oilers' goal 4:44 in,
called Nieuwendyk a warrior.
"He's been there. He's won the Cup. He knows what it takes,"
Smyth said.
The Oilers got a chance at a go-ahead goal at 13:20 of the third
when the Stars' Derian Hatcher was called for goaltender
interference, but were unable to convert on the power play.
Dallas started the second period on a power play with Georges
Laraque off for roughing Hatcher, but Salo stopped eight
consecutive shots in the first five minutes. The Oilers nearly
scored a short-handed goal when Todd Marchant hit the post.
Smyth, who needed 20 stitches to close a cut in Game 5, was
accidentally hit in the ear by Muller in the second period. Smyth
returned midway through the period.
The Oilers have been knocked out of the playoffs by Dallas the
last four seasons and won just of the four overtime games.
"We honestly felt we could beat this team this year," said
Smyth. "We have a great core of character guys here. We had it
this year. Emotionally it's hard to take."
Game notes
Edmonton's Ethan Moreau, who bruised a foot in Dallas,
played. ... Two Stars players, John MacLean and Darryl Sydor,
played in their 100th playoff game. ... No other playoff rivalry
during the last five seasons has required overtime more times than
the Oilers-Stars.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Edmonton Clubhouse
Oilers-Stars Series Page
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joe Nieuwendyk beats Tommy Salo to put the Stars ahead late in the third period.
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'Cable Modem
Ryan Smyth takes the pass from Doug Weight and puts it past Ed Belfour for a score.
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'Cable Modem
Mike Modano backhands the puck into an empty net to seal the Oilers' fate.
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'Cable Modem
Tommy Salo stops an attack on the net by the Stars in the second period.
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'Cable Modem
Brett Hull flips the puck past a sprawled out Tommy Salo for a Dallas goal.
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'Cable Modem
 Joe Nieuwendyk was a presence late in the third period of Game 6 for the Stars.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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