STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Canucks’ Bure, McLean Put Stars in a Bad Spot

Pavel Bure scored two goals and Kirk McLean stopped 39 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs Wednesday night as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Dallas Stars, 3-0, at Dallas to take a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference semifinal series.

The victory before a booing sellout crowd of 16,914 in Reunion Arena sends the Canucks back home for the next three games of the best-of-seven series.

“Our confidence has grown since we came back from being down, 3-1, to Calgary,” assistant coach Stan Smyl said. “We lacked confidence all year. But we have it now.”

Despite a grueling seven-game series against the Flames, Vancouver has outskated and outhit the Stars, who had an eight-day rest after sweeping the St. Louis Blues.

McLean, 0-2 against the Stars during the regular season, made 16 saves in the first period as Vancouver spoiled three power plays. He kicked out four consecutive shots during one bombardment.

“Things are going very well for me, but good play happens because of the guys around me,” McLean said. “We still know that Dallas can come back.”

Bure, who has six goals in his last nine playoff games, scored his second goal with only 21 seconds to play in the second period. He picked up a loose puck, faked out Derian Hatcher and wristed a forehand past goalie Andy Moog.

“Bure was inspired by the Stars’ physical attention toward him,” Canuck Coach Pat Quinn said. “The hits on him early really got him into the game. You look for Bure to score. In the other series, he was just creating attention, but here he is scoring on his own. . . . He’s tougher than he’s given credit for. Everybody wonders about their (Russian players’) courage, but nobody should question his.”

Toronto 5, San Jose 1--Mark Osborne scored a key shorthanded goal in the second period, helping the Maple Leafs romp at Toronto to even the Western Conference semifinal series at 1-1.

Dmitri Mironov, Mike Gartner, Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark also scored for the Maple Leafs, who had three power-play goals after failing to convert on five manpower advantages during a 3-2 loss in Game 1.

Toronto outshot San Jose, 13-3, in the first period. Mironov put the Maple Leafs ahead on the power play at 8:06 with a shot from the top of the left circle that beat goaltender Arturs Irbe.

Gartner made it 2-0 at 9:31 of the second period.

Osborne scored a shorthanded goal at 13:29 after Gilmour intercepted a pass in San Jose’s zone to create a two-on-one.