Sharks Can’t Get Past Belfour

Ed Belfour is proving that his outstanding goaltending during last season’s playoffs was no fluke.

Belfour posted his second consecutive shutout and third this postseason, making a first-period goal by Mike Modano stand up Sunday night as the Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks, 1-0.

“I’m feeling strong and focused,” Belfour said. “That’s the key for me. I’m seeing the puck well and the guys are playing great in front of me.”

Belfour was at his best in the final minute when a power play and an empty net gave San Jose a six-on-four advantage.

In the first 10 seconds, he made a kick save up close and caught a long shot by Gary Suter with his glove. He kicked away another Suter shot with 17 seconds left, then the Sharks’ last two attempts went wide of the goal.

Belfour will carry a scoreless streak of 138 minutes 53 seconds into Game 3 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday night at San Jose.

The Sharks’ scoring drought can be traced to the injuries hampering leading scorer Owen Nolan. Problems with his foot and shoulder kept him out of Game 2 and made him ineffective in a 4-0 loss in Game 1. Coach Darryl Sutter said he told the team not to expect Nolan back this postseason.

How important is he? Nolan scored 20% of San Jose’s goals in the regular season, then increased that to 30% (six of 20) in the first round as the eighth-seede Sharks upset top-seeded St. Louis.

San Jose won that series by splitting the first two games on the road. This time, the Sharks go home seeking their first goal of the series.

Belfour has won seven postseason games in a row at Reunion Arena dating to last season. He has given up only five goals and had four shutouts in that span. He has 10 career playoff shutouts.

Belfour made 19 saves Sunday night -- one more than in Game 1 -- but every one was important because the Stars couldn’t get a second shot past Steve Shields despite many good opportunities.

The puck not going in usually had more to do with Dallas missing than Shields making a play, such as Jere Lehtinen hitting a post and Brett Hull sticking the puck in the side of the net.

On the goal, Shields stopped a long slap shot from Hull, but gave up a long rebound into open ice. Modano beat two Sharks to the puck and fired it past Shields.