Playoffs 2000:Playoff news and notes

Playoff news and notes
ESPN.com news services

Throughout the NHL postseason, ESPN.com will provide a sampling of all the news and notes from around the Stanley Cup playoffs. Check in each day to see what's new, from Dallas and Colorado to Philly and New Jersey.

PLAYOFF TIDBITS

Stars center Mike Modano didn't take a shot in Games 3 or 4, but that doesn't mean he's not having an impact on the game. All the attention that Modano draws has opened up space for Brett Hull, who scored two goals in Game 4. "If they are going to crash on me and kind of contain me, that leaves Brett open a lot," Modano told the Star-Telegram.

After going 1-for-14 on the power play in Games 3 and 4, the Avs are scoring less than 20 percent of the time with the man advantage. "We've been looking at some tape and talked about making some adjustments," Ray Bourque said. "We have to go out and execute, so the pressure is on us to get the job done."

Sakic expecting to breakout
Joe Sakic's offensive struggles continue. He has only one point -- a Game 3 power-play assist, when he wasn't out with his normal line -- in the best-of-seven series against the Stars. Milan Hejduk has the only goal in the four games for the Sakic-Hejduk-Dave Andreychuk line.

However, coach Bob Hartley believes that Sakic is ready to breakout of his scoring slump.

"I have no problem with this," Hartley told the Denver Post. "The last two games, Joe got some quality shots, got some quality chances. I can feel that that line will get rewarded soon."

For his part, Sakic told the Post that the line "got a lot of scoring chances in the last two games. Going into Game 5, we want to do the same things we've been doing, and it doesn't matter who we're up against. In the last two games, we were more assertive and forechecked better and did the things we had to do in the offensive zone. That's what we want to keep doing."

Home is where the heart is for Dallas
The Stars Game 4 victory in Denver was the Avs' first home loss of the playoffs. The Avs had won their previous seven home playoff games. The win is a big confidence booster for the Stars, who will have to return to Colorado for Game 6.

"Getting a win in that building is huge for us, just (from) the psychological mind-set of all the teams that had so much difficulty winning in Colorado," coach Ken Hitchcock told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The win also means Dallas can win the series if they just win the rest of their home games.

"I think we play our building better than anybody in the league (plays theirs)," Hitchcock told the Denver Post. "We have to play our building really well. That includes our fans ... includes the way we play the glass, our boards and it includes the way we play our system in our building."

We are very good at playing it, and we are going to have to be great if we want to win Game 5."

Compiled and edited by ESPN.com's Peter Lawrence-Riddell.