Stars 4, Coyotes 3

(DALLAS) - The Dallas Stars had little going for them as the third period wound down. <br><br>They were two goals behind and didn't have top offensive threats Jason Arnott and Jere Lehtinen in the

Saturday, March 23rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(DALLAS) - The Dallas Stars had little going for them as the third period wound down.

They were two goals behind and didn't have top offensive threats Jason Arnott and Jere Lehtinen in the lineup.

Somehow, the Stars found a way to pull out a 4-3 victory Friday night that gave them an unexpected boost in the Western Conference playoff race.

Brenden Morrow's 50-foot goal with 21.8 seconds left capped a three-goal, third-period rally that gave the Stars 80 points, tying Phoenix for seventh in the conference.

``It's pretty exciting to be in the middle of the fray,'' Morrow said. ``We didn't have a full lineup, missing two key players, but we're still winning games. Those were two huge points. We were bound and determined to battle back.''

Arnott, acquired in a trade with New Jersey this week, is out with back and rib injuries, and Lehtinen is sidelined by an ankle injury. Both are expected back soon, and the Stars need them if they expect to continue the playoff push.

Morrow took a pass from Mike Modano and blasted a one-timer from a stride inside the blue line that beat Sean Burke to snap a 3-3 tie.

``I was just trailing the play,'' he said. ``When I got the puck, I just wanted to get it on net. I'm not going to lie to you. I just closed my eyes and hoped I'd hit it.''

The Stars dominated the third period with a 16-4 shots advantage, and are unbeaten in six games (3-0-3).

Daymond Langkow's 21st goal with 16:56 left had given Phoenix a 3-1 lead. But Modano's 33rd goal with 9:38 remaining pulled the Stars within one.

``That got us believing that, one more shot and we'd be tied up,'' Modano said. ``If we kept throwing the puck at the net, we'd get a bounce.''

They got that bounce when checker Brent Gilchrist's second goal of the season with 1:14 left glanced in off the stick of Phoenix defenseman Paul Mara to tie it at 3.

``It was an unfortunate break for (Mara), but we did it to ourselves,'' said Burke, who had 31 saves. ``We sat back in the third period and didn't play with confidence.''

Teppo Numminen and Shane Doan had goals over a span of 2:36 in the first period for the Coyotes, 7-2-1 the last 10 games.

``It was a four-point game, a big game,'' Wilson said. ``Getting even one point would have been a big point. Getting the second point is a huge bonus.''

Numminen scored his 12th of the season at 5:23 of the opening period to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead.

Stars goalie Ed Belfour reacted angrily after Numminen's shot got past him. While flat on his back, Belfour slashed Brad May, then threw a series of punches at May, who was screening Belfour.

Doan deflected in Daniel Briere's shot from the right circle for his 15th goal at 7:59 of the first period that made it 2-0. The Coyotes scored twice on their first five shots.

Dallas made it 2-1 at 12:05 of the first period on Kirk Muller's power-play rebound. Muller notched his ninth goal, extending his points streak to six games.

Notes: Numminen bruised his knee late in the first period and didn't return. ... Stars C Pierre Turgeon was back after missing four games because of a shoulder injury. ... Dallas D Sergei Zubov earned his 400th career assist on Modano's goal.