Devils One Away From Cup

Dallas
Stars

"Fifteen wins doesn't get you a Stanley Cup; 16 does," Brian Rafalski said. "But we don't want this series to drag on any longer."

The Stars had a 1-0 lead on a second period goal by Joe Nieuwendyk before the Devils scored three goals on three shots in a 3:41 span as the Stars' defense collapsed.

"We went from quite a high to quite a low in a short period of time," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "To give it away that quickly ... the thing that's dominated is their ability to defend is better than ours right now, and they're turning them into offensive opportunities. All three goals were made off terrific plays."

Sergei Brylin tied the game 2:27 into the third period. Dallas got on power-play less than a minute later, but John Madden scored the game-winning goal short-handed just moments after missing on a 2-on-1.

"When I had missed the first shot on the 2-on-1, I went back to the bench. I was told that if I get another chance to shoot again, go a little blocker (side) because you had him beat this time," Madden said. "I got real lucky to have the same exact shot twice within about 30 seconds."

Dallas never recovered and Rafalski put the game away for the Devils at 6:08 of the final period.

"I think we're all disappointed, but we've never done anything easy," Stars goaltender Ed Belfour said.

Game 4 was already do-or-die for the Stars and they now face elimination. The Devils play like they are on a mission and they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup in the next game.