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Stars seeking sweep against Sharks

Apr 30, 2008 - 1:45 PM San Jose at Dallas 9:00 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Stars lead, 3-0

DALLAS (Ticker) - The Dallas Stars can sweep their way to the next round when they host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday in Game Four of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Defenseman Mattias Norstrom scored 4:37 into overtime Tuesday as the fifth-seeded Stars took a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series with a 2-1 triumph over the second-seeded Sharks.

It was the second overtime victory of the series for Dallas, which saw captain Brenden Morrow net the winning goal in a 3-2 triumph in Game One.

"We'll take it," Morrow said of Tuesday's win. "We played some real good hockey and we're in a real good position right now. We are finding ways to win hockey games and have gained some steam here. It's a battle. They are good defensively and they do a good job clogging up lanes."

Captain Patrick Marleau scored a shorthanded goal and Vezina Trophy finalist Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 27 shots for San Jose, which is looking to avoid losing in the conference semifinals for the third consecutive season.

"There's no quit in this room," said Nabokov, whose team has scored first in each game of the series. "All the games have been pretty close. We've been leading two games in the third (period). It's been little bounces here and there. There's nothing we can do about it. We have to regroup and forget these games."

The Sharks have a tough mission in front of them.

Only two teams have overcome a three-games-to-none deficit in the Stanley Cup playoffs - the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who accomplished the feat against the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals, and the 1975 New York Islanders, who defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals.

"We're going to try to end their season, and they know that," Norstrom said. "The desperation level will be higher, so we have to match that and exceed it."