NEW JERSEY
VS.
CAROLINA

OTTAWA
VS.
TORONTO

WASHINGTON
VS.
PITTSBURGH

PHILADELPHIA
VS.
BUFFALO

COLORADO
VS.
VANCOUVER

DETROIT
VS.
LOS ANGELES

DALLAS
VS.
EDMONTON

ST. LOUIS
VS.
SAN JOSE
Thursday, April 26
A rivalry is born
Joy Russo
ESPN.com

With the Edmonton dynasty years long gone, it took some rebuilding before the Oilers returned to the postseason spotlight. Five seasons, in fact. But when Edmonton did return to the playoffs in 1997, it reinforced the organization as a contender and ignited one of the more recent playoff rivalries in the NHL against the Dallas Stars.

Edmonton 4, Dallas 3
Date Result Winner/Goalie
4/16 Stars 5, Oilers 3 Modano/Moog
4/18 Oilers 4, Stars 0 Grier/Joseph
4/20 Oilers 4, Stars 3 Buchberger/Joseph
4/22 Stars 4, Oilers 3 Langenbrunner/Moog
4/25 Oilers 1, Stars 0 Smyth/Joseph
4/27 Stars 3, Oilers 2 Modano/Moog
4/29 Oilers 4, Stars 3 Marchant/Joseph

The Stars finished with the second best record in the league, while the Oilers ended the regular season in third in the Pacific Division. Behind the stellar play of Doug Weight and Ryan Smyth, Edmonton's mixture of brawn and speed was a good match for Dallas. Goalies Andy Moog (Dallas) and Curtis Joseph (Edmonton) both worked overtime – literally and figuratively – with three of the series' seven games needing extra sessions and all but one game being decided by one goal.

The turnaround?
The Oilers never quit, winning all three of those overtime sessions. Kelly Buchberger sealed Game 3 and Ryan Smyth needed two overtimes to take Game 5. But Todd Marchant's breakaway OT goal in the deciding Game 7 is what stunned the Stars faithful and ousted Dallas with a 4-3 win. Marchant likely thanked Joseph, who on the previous play, made one of those heart-stopping, sprawling saves on Joe Nieuwendyk to preserve the tie.

Edmonton wound up losing 4-1 to the defending champion Avalanche in the conference semifinals, but its first-round victory helped put the team back on the playoff map. More fuel to the fire – the two teams met in the playoffs the next three seasons – Dallas won all three.

Series MVP
It has to be Joseph. One guy scores the game-winner, but Cujo had to make many saves for the Oilers to even have a chance.

Joy Russo is a staff editor for ESPN.com

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