Stars even up series in brawl-filled Game 2 - NHL

DALLAS -- The eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers went from thinking about pulling off an upset to acting very, very upset.

Scott Young scored two first-period goals, and Mike Modano had a goal and two assists as the top-seeded Dallas Stars beat the Oilers 6-1 Friday night in a game that featured 39 penalties, several brawls and the ejection of both captains.


Scott Young scores two first-period goals to get the Stars going.(AP)

"We wanted to play physical, but it became more than that," said Edmonton's Ethan Moreau, who had five infractions: goalie interference, elbowing, roughing, slashing and unsporstmanlike conduct. "It's unfortunate the game had to take that turn."

The Oilers won Game 1 and scored the first goal of this game, giving them hopes of taking a 2-0 series lead home for Game 3 on Sunday night. Then Dallas scored six unanswered goals, including three in the first period, to change the tone.

When Jason Arnott made it 4-1 with 1:08 left in the second period, only 12 penalties had been called. Then as the second intermission began, Dallas' Derian Hatcher and Brad Isbister of the Oilers got into a shoving match that drew three penalties.

Another 24 followed in the final period -- so many that only 4:15 of the third was played at 5-on-5, and none of the final 11:45.

"It was frustration from our point of view," Isbister said. "At a certain point, it doesn't matter how many penalties you have."

In addition to the two game misconducts, there were two misconducts and a 10-minute match penalty to Edmonton's Cory Cross for intent to injure. He pulverized Dallas' Stephane Robidas, bloodying his face.

For the game, 19 different players were penalized -- 10 for the Oilers and nine Stars. Moreau's five were the most for one player; Cross had the most minutes with 14.

"It was a good, old-fashioned, revved-up playoff game," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "That was fun -- at least, from our perspective it was fun. ... I've seen much dirtier than that. It was frustration on their part. Once the score got out of hand, maybe they were trying to send a message."

No maybe about it, said Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish.

"When they made it 5-1, it was obviously going to be a physical period," MacTavish said. "If we lose the game, we were going to at least take our toll physically on the opposition.

"We started to get physical because of the liberties we felt Dallas was taking with our guys. We weren't going to stand for that."

Things really turned ugly after Ulf Dahlen scored the sixth goal on goaltender Jussi Markkanen, 36 seconds after he replaced Tommy Salo.

About two minutes later, a skirmish broke out behind the Oilers' net. When it ended, there were eight sticks, more than a dozen gloves and several helmets laying on the ice. Stars goalie Marty Turco skated to mid-ice, near Salo on the bench, and soon after MacTavish shouted at a fan in a vest and cowboy hat sitting in the front row.

Hatcher and Oilers captain Jason Smith were ejected. Because Hatcher also received a game misconduct in the opener, he is likely to be suspended for Game 3.

Tensions are already high between these teams because they know each other so well. This is the sixth time in seven years they are meeting in the playoffs, with the only exception coming last season when neither made the postseason.

Edmonton's Game 1 victory gave it a lead in a playoff series against Dallas for the first time since winning the 1997 matchup in seven games.

"A split is not too bad, but it doesn't taste as good when you win the first one," Isbister said, "This game is over. We're putting it behind us."

Sergei Zubov scored with a two-man advantage midway through the first to tie it, then Young's pair of goals put the Stars up 3-1 at the first intermission.

"Those goals feel like it was yesterday with all the penalties," Young said. "It was a very long hockey game. That happens when it gets out of hand."

Turco had to make only 12 saves for his first career playoff victory. In the third period, the Oilers took only three shots -- well, at least the kind involving pucks and sticks.

Salo was pulled after allowing five goals on 29 shots. Markkanen stopped 10 shots after getting beaten on the first he faced.

Notes

The game's first three goals came on the power play, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
Zubov, Arnott and Dahlen each had a goal and an assist.
Dallas' home crowd was far louder and more energized than in the opener. It helped that the game started at 8 p.m. on a Friday night instead of 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday.
The Oilers are 20-1 in seven-game series when they win Game 1.

Dallas vs. Edmonton

Notes