Smith’s Shot Gives Oilers 1-0 Victory, Edge in Series

Ryan Smith’s 25-foot slap shot from the left circle found its way through Andy Moog’s pads and into the net 12 seconds into the second overtime Friday night and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Stars, 1-0, at Dallas to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference series.

Oiler goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped 43 shots for his second shutout of the series; Moog had 28 saves.

Jason Arnott got the puck to Smith after the faceoff and Smith skated untouched over the blue line and took the shot from a tough angle.

Moog and Joseph each made brilliant saves in the first overtime as neither team could break through. Moog made 13 saves in the period and Joseph had seven.

Joseph, who stopped 25 shots in a 4-0 victory in Game 2, faced many tough shots in the first three periods. He withstood five power plays and 35 shots to keep the game scoreless.

Moog wasn’t tested often in the first three periods, knocking away 14 shots as the Stars kept Edmonton away from the net. The Oilers had one power play in regulation.

It was the second overtime game in the series. The Oilers scored three goals late and won, 4-3, in overtime at Edmonton in Game 3.

Ottawa 4, Buffalo 1--Daniel Alfredsson scored two goals and the Senators moved within a game of their first playoff-series victory by defeating the Sabres at Buffalo.

The Sabres, for the second consecutive game, were without star goalie Dominik Hasek, who attacked a reporter outside the locker room after the game.

Hasek approached Buffalo News hockey writer Jim Kelley about a column Kelley wrote about the star goaltender. Hasek first pushed Kelley and took a swing at him before the altercation was broken up. Neither Kelley nor the Sabres would comment after the incident.

The incident apparently stemmed from a column Kelley wrote earlier this week in which he questioned whether Hasek was having problems handling the pressure of performing in the playoffs. Hasek has been out with a sprained right knee.

Alfredsson scored in the first minute of the second and third periods. His first goal came a minute into the second period and turned out to be the game winner. He started the play by grabbing the puck behind the Buffalo net and circling around before beating Hasek’s replacement, Steve Shields, with a low wrist shot that went between the goalie’s legs.

Detroit 5, St. Louis 2--Steve Yzerman scored a fluke goal early in the game and the Red Wings never trailed at Detroit.

The five goals matched Detroit’s entire output against goalie Grant Fuhr in the first four games.

Vyacheslav Kozlov, Darren McCarty, Brendan Shanahan and Larry Murphy also scored for Detroit. Al MacInnis and Jim Campbell scored for St. Louis.

The Red Wings threw all of their offensive might at Fuhr early in the game. Fuhr, who shut Detroit out in Games 1 and 4, had to come up with two tough saves in the first minute of play.

The Red Wings outshot St. Louis, 11-3, in the first period, yet Yzerman’s goal at 3:22 came on the most unlikely of shots. Yzerman was about one stride over the red line, trying to maneuver around MacInnis, when he let loose a long looping shot that somehow went through Fuhr’s legs for a 1-0 lead.