NHL ROUNDUP\In Montreal, finale brings triumph, tears\Associated Press.

The Dallas Stars never had a chance. Not with those 24 Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters of the Montreal Forum. Not on this night, the finale in hockey's shrine.

There were no rink-long dashes by Guy Lafleur, no scintillating saves by Ken Dryden, no spinarama moves by Serge Savard. But a conglomeration of players that included a Finn, a Russian and a couple of pretty good French Canadians put the finishing touches on the end of an era Monday night, leading the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Stars.

The final game at the 72-year-old Forum began and ended with a thunderous cheer. In between, the Canadiens, battling for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, rewarded the fans who crammed every inch of the place for one last look.

With the crowd rocking the building, Lafleur and the two French-Canadian greats before him - Jean Beliveau and Maurice "The Rocket" Richard - walked the red carpet to center ice for a pregame faceoff between rival captains Pierre Turgeon of the Canadiens and Guy Carbonneau of Dallas, himself a former Montreal captain.

If that wasn't inspiration enough, the national anthem certainly was, eliciting tears from many. The lights were dimmed and a videotape of the man renowned for his stirring renditions of both the American and Canadian anthems, moved the throng as only he could. It was as if Roger Doucet was back to sing one last goodbye.

The fans were roaring as first Doucet, who died a decade ago, then Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey - heroes from the teams that won four consecutive Stanley Cups at the close of the 1970s - appeared on the giant scoreboard above center ice.

Once the game began, naturally it was Turgeon, the current French-Canadian star, who gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead, scoring on a wrist shot from the slot 6:20 into the first period. Dallas goalie Andy Moog never saw the puck until it sailed past him - he was screened on the shot by one of his defensemen, Craig Ludwig, another former Canadien.

Turgeon set up the game's second goal, by linemate Mark Recchi, in the second period. Moog made a sparkling save with his right pad on Turgeon's hard wrist shot, but Recchi pounced on the rebound before the fallen goalie could recover and shoveled it in.

At game's end, the Canadiens staged a half-hour tribute to the Forum.

Chicago 8, Florida 4: Denis Savard had two goals and an assist to become the 15th player in NHL history with 1,300 points as the Blackhawks snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Panthers in Chicago. Ed Belfour returned from injury to make 38 saves for the Blackhawks, who had lost seven of their previous eight games.

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Photo (1--ran in FINAL edition only) The national anthem precedes final game in the Montreal Forum. (2--ran in VALLEY edition only) Both teams and referee Andy Van Hellemond brace for the opening faceoff of the last game in the Montreal Forum. Associated Press