Stars Finish Oilers; Ducks Next

Mike Modano’s goal with 6:52 left Saturday night gave Dallas a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Edmonton, sending the Stars into a second-round matchup against the Mighty Ducks.

Modano’s goal, his fourth of the series, not only eliminated Edmonton but completed the Stars’ rally from a 2-1 deficit in the series.

It was the fifth time in six seasons Dallas has eliminated Edmonton from the playoffs.

The only time the Oilers have beaten the Stars in the previous six times they have met in the playoffs was 1997.

“We were holding on for dear life,” Modano said. “It is a fine line. It’s right to the bitter end every time we play them. It could teeter-totter one way or the other. It could go against us real quick as much as it has gone for us.”

Dallas forward Kirk Muller said it was as difficult as expected.

“We said at the start of the series it was going to be tough. They had a good, young team,” he said.

“We got timely goals. We scored some early goals that really gave us the momentum. We knew coming in here how hard it would be and we were prepared for it.”

Edmonton defenseman Steve Staios expressed his disappointment in losing another series to Dallas.

“When you build the belief system in the locker room that you can win a series and you don’t get it done, it feels empty....

“The most frustrating thing was that it was these guys again,” he said. “They seem to have our number in the playoffs.”

Minnesota 3, Colorado 2 -- Manny Fernandez stopped 26 shots at Denver in his first career playoff start as the Wild staved off elimination.

The Avalanche leads the best-of-seven series, 3-2, but will have to win Monday in St. Paul, Minn., to avoid a Game 7 Tuesday in Denver.

Minnesota played its defense scheme to near perfection, limiting Colorado’s scoring chances and frustrating the Avalanche with physical play.

But the Wild’s odds of advancing aren’t great. Of the 193 teams in NHL history that have trailed a series, 3-1, only seven have come back to win two games on the road.

“Nobody predicted us to be in the playoffs in the first place,” Minnesota’s Darby Hendrickson said. “We have been resilient, we haven’t given up. We’re going home and we’re excited about that. Anything can happen.”

The Avalanche came out flat and were sloppy with the puck through the first two periods to lose a potential series-clinching fifth game at home for the fourth time in five seasons. Colorado won two of the previous series in seven games and lost to Edmonton in seven games in 1998.

“I thought we were ready, but obviously we came out flat,” Avalanche Coach Tony Granato said. “They were able to take advantage of it and played a solid game. By the time we got going, it was too late.”

Philadelphia 4, Toronto 1 -- Sami Kapanen scored two power-play goals and Tony Amonte had two assists at Philadelphia as the Flyers took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Game 6 is Monday night in Toronto.

Dmitry Yushkevich and Simon Gagne also scored for Philadelphia. Aki Berg scored for the Maple Leafs.

Toronto had Alexander Mogilny back after the standout right wing sat out Game 4 because of concussion symptoms. Mogilny, who had five goals in the first three games, was injured after being hit in the face with a high stick in Game 3.

Mogilny hit the post on a short-handed, two-on-one breakaway in the second period and was given a double minor for high-sticking in the third that led to Kapanen’s second goal.

Players didn’t wait until the game started to resume the physical side of the series. Jeremy Roenick and Darcy Tucker, who have exchanged several hard checks throughout, had words during warmups. Enforcers Donald Brashear of Philadelphia and Tie Domi of Toronto went at it a few times during the game, but didn’t fight.