NHL PLAYOFFS : Ciccarelli, Red Wings Dominate

Dino Ciccarelli reaffirmed the power-play prowess of the Detroit Red Wings and, in doing so, pushed the Dallas Stars to the brink of playoff elimination Thursday night at Dallas.

Ciccarelli had a three of Detroit’s four power-play goals in a 5-1 victory that gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series.

The performance tied an NHL playoff record for a power-play hat trick, accomplished by Ciccarelli in 1993.

“I kept finding open spots in front of the net and my teammates found me,” Ciccarelli said. “I just kept being in the right place at the right time.”

Detroit is nine for 18 on power plays in the Dallas series.

Chicago 3, Toronto 2--Gary Suter scored twice and Chris Chelios had a shorthanded goal as the Blackhawks won their first game in the Western Conference quarterfinal at Toronto. Toronto leads the best-of-seven series, 2-1.

Mike Ridley and Mats Sundin scored for the Maple Leafs, with Sundin creating some last-minute excitement when his long shot beat Ed Belfour with 58 seconds left after Potvin had been pulled for an extra attacker.

Calgary 9, San Jose 2--After winning twice at Calgary, the Sharks gave up three goals to Mike Sullivan at San Jose.

San Jose holds a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven Western Conference series. Calgary has never recovered from a two-game deficit in the playoffs.

Vancouver 6, St. Louis 1--The Canucks scored three times in the first period after falling behind, 1-0, and goalie Kirk McLean shut the Blues out the rest of the way at Vancouver.

After Brett Hull’s goal 20 seconds into the game, Jyrki Lumme, Geoff Courtnall and Dave Babych gave the Canucks, who lead the series, 2-1, a two-goal lead.

Sergio Momesso added two more goals in the second period, and Trevor Linden completed the scoring in the third.

The Canucks converted four of 11 power-play opportunities and also had a shorthanded goal.