Hasek Falters as Bruins Win Series Opener

Coach Pat Burns knew his Boston Bruins could beat Dominik Hasek even if the pregame hype made the Buffalo Sabres’ goalie seem invincible.

“I think he let some goals in this year. I don’t think his [goals-against] average is 0.00,” Burns said. “The guy has been scored on.”

The Bruins did it three times Thursday night and added an empty-net goal by Dmitri Khristich, his second goal of the game and the playoffs, as Boston won the opener of their second-round playoff series against the Sabres, 4-2, at Boston.

“I didn’t think they had too many goal-scoring chances,” said Hasek, whose 1.87 goals-against average was second in the league. “We were always one or two goals behind and it’s tough to come back from a deficit like that.”

Hasek won the NHL’s last two most-valuable-player awards, led the Czech Republic to the Olympic gold medal last year, was tops in the league in save percentage and gave up only six goals in Buffalo’s 4-0 sweep of the Ottawa Senators in the first round.

Dallas 3, St. Louis 0--Brett Hull and Pat Verbeek scored their first goals of the playoffs and Ed Belfour stopped 23 shots at Dallas in the first game of the Western Conference semifinal series.

Belfour earned his fifth shutout and 50th playoff victory by shutting down the leg-weary Blues, who were involved in a seven-gane series with the Phoenix Coyotes while Dallas rested for nine days.

Around the NHL

Winger Glen Murray, facing negotiations with the Kings on a new contract as a restricted free agent, underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery, with scar tissue removed. Murray, who suffered a torn knee ligament Jan. 2 in a game against the Colorado Avalanche, scored 16 goals and had 15 assists in 61 games. He did sit out because of a shoulder injury, but the knee injury cost him 19 games. He is expected to make a complete recovery from both injuries. . . . A judge scheduled an emergency hearing for Tuesday on the NHL’s request to fold, sell and move the financially troubled Pittsburgh Penguins. The league is using the prospect of losing the team as leverage to force its sale to its preferred buyer, former Penguin center Mario Lemieux. Broadcast.com founder Mark Cuban also is interested in investing in Lemieux’s group. Lemieux met this week with Cuban. . . . The NHL will conduct its draft drawing on May 16 to determine the order of selection for the first 12 picks in the Entry Draft. The 11 teams that missed the Stanley Cup playoffs--or the clubs that acquired first-round picks from those teams--will participate in the drawing along with the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.