Devils’ Three-Goal Spurt Stuns Stars

DALLAS — Rookies John Madden and Brian Rafalski were never drafted by an NHL team, somehow slipping below the radar net of scouts, tapes and word of mouth. But they didn’t escape the keen eye of the New Jersey Devils, whose knack for nurturing young talent has helped bring them within one victory of the Stanley Cup.

Madden, a center signed as a free agent from the University of Michigan, and Rafalski, a defenseman who spent the previous four seasons in Europe, scored the last two goals in a spurt of three goals in 3 minutes 41 seconds Monday night to lift the Devils to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars at Reunion Arena and a 3-1 series lead. The defending champion Stars, who were 11-0 in games they led after two periods, were visibly stunned to see their vaunted defense dissected with such apparent ease.

“They’ve got a great team. I’m not taking anything away from them,” Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “But we got our heart ripped out of us a little bit today.”

After Devil center Sergei Brylin tied the score at 2:27 of the third period by converting a rebound in the crease, Madden scored on his second short-handed break in 30 seconds, beating Ed Belfour to the stick side at 4:51. Before the Stars realized what had hit them, Rafalski jumped off the bench and darted behind defenseman Sergei Zubov before besting Belfour with a wrist shot at 6:08.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep the next two days,” Madden said of the wait until Game 5, Thursday at the Continental Airlines Arena. “I wish we were playing tomorrow.”

Said Dallas center Mike Modano, who has yet to score a goal in the finals: “I don’t know what really happened. We played a great 40 minutes and put ourselves in position to win the game. It’s things we’re doing that are hurting ourselves in the end, our decisions with and without the puck. . . . Our backs are up against the wall again. We’ve usually responded in the past. It’s possible. It’s been done before.”

But not often. Since the NHL introduced the best-of-seven format in the finals in 1939, 25 of 25 clubs that took 3-1 leads have won the Cup. The only exception was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who overcame a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings. “We’ve got to make history here,” Dallas winger Brenden Morrow said.

Playing before a sellout crowd of 17,001 towel-waving fans, the Stars tested New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur early but couldn’t break through until a second-period power play. With Devil defenseman Vladimir Malakhov serving a cross-checking penalty, Joe Nieuwendyk slipped behind defenseman Scott Niedermayer and poked the puck into the net at 18:06, his first goal in the finals.

The Devils, however, weren’t discouraged--maybe because their rookies didn’t know enough to think they couldn’t rally.

“When we went into the intermission before the third period, we were all positive,” said Madden, who led the NHL with six short-handed goals this season and scored an NCAA-record 23 short-handed goals in four years for the Michigan Wolverines. “We just said it was a matter of time before we scored some goals. That’s what we were looking to do--trying to get everything on net and come at them with everything we had.”

It was only a matter of 2:27 until Brylin converted the rebound of a shot by Malakhov to tie the score. Just 2:24 later, with Colin White serving an interference penalty, Madden shot wide on one breakaway but didn’t miss his second try. And at 6:08, Rafalski silenced the arena. “I saw the space behind Zubov and went wide,” Rafalski said, “and I was able to get past him and get a good shot off.”

The Stars may not have much ammunition left. Winger Jamie Langenbrunner rejoined the lineup after being idled by a sprained knee, but their offense still produced little sustained pressure. They’ve been outshot in every game and have been held to one goal in losing each of the last two games at home. Nor does their 4-5 playoff road record inspire confidence.

“I think we’re all disappointed, but we’ve never done anything the easy way,” Belfour said. “This is just another challenge.”

Another challenge, maybe. But another loss, and the Devils will parade the Cup along exit 16W on the New Jersey Turnpike.

“It’s great to have come this far, but 15 wins doesn’t get you a Stanley Cup. Sixteen does,” said Rafalski, who was playing for HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League finals a year ago. “The next game, we don’t want to try to drag this series on any longer. We’re going to try to take it to them again.

“When a team is down, 3-1, we were in that situation last round [and] we were able to come back. So hopefully, we will learn from Philly’s letdown and take advantage of the situation.”

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THE SERIES

NEW JERSEY vs. DALLAS

Devils lead series, 3-1

* GAME 1: New Jersey 7, Dallas 3

* GAME 2: Dallas 2, New Jersey 1

* GAME 3: New Jersey 2, Dallas 1

* GAME 4: New Jersey 3, Dallas 1

* THURSDAY: Game 5, at New Jersey, Ch. 7

* SATURDAY: Game 6, at Dallas, Ch. 7*

* MONDAY: Game 7, at New Jersey, Ch. 7*

* if necessary; all games 5 p.m. Pacific