Playoffs 2000:Belfour not popular in San Jose

Belfour not popular in San Jose
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Ed Belfour is a hated man in San Jose, and it's not just because he shut out the Sharks in the first two games of their playoff series with the Dallas Stars.

The Dallas goalie is regarded as a traitor by Sharks fans because he spurned a contract offer after getting traded to San Jose in 1997, playing just 13 games for the Sharks before signing a free-agent deal with the Stars.

Tue, April 2
If there's any possible way Owen Nolan will play, he'll play. This game is the whole series. If the Sharks don't win, they don't win the series. It all depends on Nolan. Coach Darryl Sutter will keep the kids in the lineup (Patrick Marleau, Alexander Korolyuk, Marco Sturm) because they played well in Game 2.

Another key for San Jose is the power play. The only game Dallas lost in the playoffs was against Edmonton when the Oilers scored two power-play goals. If the power play doesn't get going, the Sharks aren't going to win.

In terms of Ed Belfour playing in the hostile environment of San Jose, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only way it could be trouble is if Eddie lets up a few early goals.

Whenever Belfour has returned to San Jose since then, he has been the focus of anger by Sharks fans. He will be even more reviled this time because he has led the Stars to 4-0 and 1-0 wins over the Sharks in the first two games of the series.

"I think every time I've come back there, they've been hard on me," Belfour said. "It's definitely satisfying when you have good games in buildings where the fans are on you. I like challenges. I like to play my best in those type of games."

Belfour will face such challenges when the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series moves to San Jose for Game 3 on Tuesday night and Game 4 on Friday night.

Belfour was serenaded with chants of "Ed-die, Ed-die" from thankful Dallas fans on Sunday night as he extended his scoreless streak to 138 minutes, 53 seconds. He has 10 postseason shutouts.

He'll hear similar chants in San Jose, though with a decidedly derisive tone.

Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said Belfour is used to dealing with hostile crowds on the road, such as Game 3 of this year's first-round series in Edmonton. The Oilers scored five times on Belfour in the first two periods in that game, their only victory in the series against Dallas.

"I'm sure they're going to be on him, but I just don't see anything that could be worse than Edmonton. If we can get by that scene in Edmonton, we can get by anything," Hitchcock said. "The atmosphere was almost chaotic at times, it was so emotional. It was a very volatile area and we handled it well."

The Sharks, who upset St. Louis in seven games in the first round, have more than Belfour to worry about as they try to score their first goal of the series. They likely will be missing top scorer Owen Nolan, who missed Sunday's Game 2 at Dallas.


	Belfour won't be a popular man when he takes the ice in San Jose.

Nolan scored a San Jose-record 44 goals in the regular season, one-fifth of the team's total. He had six of the Sharks' 20 goals in the first-round series with St. Louis.

Nolan missed four of the last five regular-season games with a shoulder injury. Then, in Game 7 of the first round, he took a slapshot from Al MacInnis off his foot. It left him hobbling and ineffective in Game 1 against the Stars.

Sharks coach Darryl Sutter told his team Sunday not to expect Nolan back this year.

"You lose your captain, your physical presence, your leading goal-scorer and your top minutes man," Sutter said. "It's all fairly obvious what he means to our club."

Whereas Dallas' Mike Modano has at least a point in six straight games, including the only goal on Sunday, the Sharks will have to search for a new offensive leader if Nolan cannot return.

"He's their best player," Modano said. "He's the heart and soul of their team. He carried them through the first round against St. Louis."

The Sharks, who won four of six games against Dallas during the regular season, tried to remain upbeat.

"We know we can beat this team. We need to get some breaks and find a way to beat Belfour," center Vincent Damphousse said. "We know it's going to be loud in our building. We know our fans will be on him. Hopefully, we can rile him a little bit."