STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Rookie Goalie Blanks Sharks for 4-0 Victory

Detroit rookie goaltender Chris Osgood, making his first appearance in an NHL playoff game, gave the Red Wings the boost they needed in their 4-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday at Detroit to even their best-of-seven Western Conference series at 1-1.

It was the first playoff shutout by a rookie Detroit goalie since Terry Sawchuk shut out Montreal in 1951. But it was Osgood’s second shutout of the Sharks this season.

“I knew this afternoon that I was going to play,” Osgood, 21, said. “And I was excited because I’ve never played in a playoff game before. But I knew I had to just go out there and play and not worry about the playoffs.”

Shawn Burr gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the second period. Bob Probert, Dino Ciccarelli and Nicklas Lidstrom each scored goals in the first 6:43 of the third period to clinch the victory.

During the regular season, Osgood appeared in 41 games for Detroit and had a 23-8-5 record while giving up 2.86 goals per game.

The series shifts to San Jose for the next three games.

Dallas 4, St. Louis 2--Mike Modano slid a rebound under Curtis Joseph 2:58 into the third period for his second goal to lead the Stars to victory at Dallas and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

“We worked for our goals,” said Dallas Coach Bob Gainey, referring to the Stars’ 51 shots. “We had to get around him often enough. On a night when we have a little more good luck, then maybe they’ll go in more easily.”

The series returns to St. Louis on Friday with the Blues still trying to figure out how to defeat Dallas goalie Darcy Wakaluk, who won for the second time as veteran Andy Moog watched from the Stars’ bench.

St. Louis seemed to be behind all night, forcing Joseph to make stop after stop to keep Dallas from running away. The Stars outshot the Blues, 51-26.

Calgary 7, Vancouver 5--Al MacInnis had two goals and three assists and Joe Nieuwendyk scored twice at Calgary as the Flames tied their Western Conference NHL playoff series, 1-1.

MacInnis’ five points set a Flames’ record for points in a playoff game. The previous high was four held by several players.

The Flames did everything they didn’t when the Canucks defeated them, 5-0, on Monday. Calgary scored four times on the power play and once shorthanded. Goaltender Mike Vernon also made key saves when needed.

Mike Sullivan, German Titov and Theoren Fleury also scored for the Flames, who for the fifth consecutive year won the second game of the opening round of the playoffs after losing the series opener. The series will return to Vancouver for two games Friday and Sunday.

Toronto 1, Chicago 0--Todd Gill scored 2:15 into overtime and Felix Potvin out-dueled Ed Belfour in a goaltending battle at Toronto, as the Maple Leafs took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series that resumes with Games 3 and 4 in Chicago this weekend.

Chicago has lost 10 consecutive playoff games, including a four-game sweep by Pittsburgh in the 1992 Stanley Cup final and a first-round 1993 sweep by St. Louis.

It appeared that nobody would score as Potvin and Belfour took turns frustrating their opponents.