Last Game: Colorado Avalanche 5, Detroit Red Wings 3
DENVER - Shjon Podein and Ray Bourque scored goals in the final 2:27 as the Colorado Avalanche held off the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 Saturday in a battle of the NHL's two best teams.
Colorado extended its lead over Detroit to six points (103-97) in the race for the league's top record and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs with two games in hand.
"I thought that's about as close as you can get to playoff intensity in the regular season," said Podein. "Both teams played hard and I think it was a good test of character. It was nice to get the two points - it is a big two points for us to reach our regular season goal. We want to end up with the Presidents' Trophy and secure home ice throughout, and today was a very good step towards it."
Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy, who was pulled midway through the second period after allowing five goals in Colorado's 6-3 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday, had 23 saves, as did Detroit's Chris Osgood.
Defenseman Jiri Fischer cut Detroit's deficit to 3-2 early in the third period, scoring the first NHL goal of his career on a rebound of Slava Kozlov's shot.
Podein then jammed the puck past Osgood at 17:33. But Colorado's seemingly secure advantage was erased 35 seconds later when Pat Verbeek scored after knocking the puck out of mid-air in front of the goal.
The Red Wings pulled Osgood with a minute remaining, but Bourque scored into an empty net at 19:42.
"You've got to prove something everyday, no matter where you are in the standings," said Avalanche defenseman Ray Bourque. "When you're playing a quality team like Detroit, they're right there with us. That's one of the teams we may end up playing in the playoffs. They're a quality team and there are more than a few in our conference; you don't take anything for granted. You always have to work for what you get and we had to work for that one today." Colorado, 9-1-1-2 in its last 13 games, outshot Detroit 12-6 in a chippy first period that saw several skirmishes between the bitter rivals and three penalties assessed against each team.
"We've been working on our penalty killing and it was a big part in our win today," noted Steve Reinprecht. "It's just a matter of coming out, working hard, and finishing your checks. These teams both match up pretty equally and we just want to go out there and try to win all the battles."
Joe Sakic scored the only goal of the period, and it came just 14 seconds into the game. Bourque passed from the left boards across the ice to a streaking Sakic, who outskated Chris Chelios and beat Osgood from the right circle for his 42nd goal.
Said Detroit's Martin Lapointe, "Overall, it was a good effort, but in the first period, you can't make mistakes like that. They capitalized on all the mistakes we made today."
The Avalanche went ahead 3-0 in the second period before Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom made it 3-1 on a power-play goal from the slot with 5.6 seconds left in the period.
Colorado's Ville Nieminen scored at the end of a 4-on-1 rush at 2:08 of the period, taking a pass in the crease from Peter Forsberg. Milan Hejduk added his 38th goal, a shorthanded try, at 14:23, scoring from the slot on a pass from Steven Reinprecht.
"We had a bad start," noted Scotty Bowman. "We didn't have any scoring chances in the first and until we got the power play goal in the second. They didn't have a lot, but the one's they had we kind of created. I think there's a lot of games to be played before the playoffs start. I told them at the end of the second that up till this point, it's the biggest game of the year and we haven't shown up. If we hadn't shown up in the third, it was going to be even more worrisome."
Game Notes:
Defenseman Adam Foote, sidelined since January 4 with a separated right shoulder, participated in his first full-contact practice with the Avs on Friday and could return in seven to ten days...
Sakic's goal was the fastest Colorado goal to start a game this season, but shy of the franchise record of nine seconds...
Sakic extends his point streak to five games (5g/2a)...
Rookie Ville Nieminen has posted 10 points in the last 12 games (6g/4a)...
Steven Reinprecht leads all NHL rookies in shorthanded points and assists (2g/3a)...
Milan Hejduk extends his point streak to three games (1g/2a)...
Defenseman Greg de Vries posted his third multi-point effort of the season and fourth of his career...
Colorado has outshot its opponents for a season-best 11th consecutive game...
Detroit came into the game as one of the NHL's hottest teams and despite the loss is 15-3-5-0 in its last 23 games, losing for only the second time since January 30.
The Associated Press contributed to this recap.
First Period: Scoring: 1, Colorado, Sakic 42 (Bourque, Blake), 0:14. Penalties: Nieminen, Col (roughing), 0:59; Fischer, Det (cross checking), 3:47; Hejduk, Col (tripping), 4:05; Dandenault, Det (hooking), 9:09; Fischer, Det (roughing), 15:40; Klemm, Col (holding), 20:00.
Second Period: Scoring: 2, Colorado, Nieminen 12 (Forsberg), 2:08. 3, Colorado, Hejduk 38 (shorthanded) (Reinprecht, de Vries), 14:23. 4, Detroit, Lidstrom 12 (power play) (Holmstrom, Fedorov), 19:54. Penalties: de Vries, Col (high sticking), 5:11; Detroit Bench, served by Holmstrom, (too many men on the ice), 11:25; Blake, Col (interference), 13:32; Drury, Col (interference), 18:44.
Third Period: Scoring: 5, Detroit, Fischer 1 (Kozlov, Lapointe), 3:19. 6, Colorado, Podein 15 (de Vries, Reinprecht), 17:33. 7, Detroit, Verbeek 15 (Larionov, Kozlov), 18:08. 8, Colorado, Bourque 6 (empty net) (unassisted), 19:42. Penalties: de Vries, Col (cross checking), 7:21; Shanahan, Det (tripping), 11:49.
Power-Play Conversions: Detroit - 1 of 7, Colorado - 0 of 5. Goalies: Detroit, Osgood (27 shots, 23 saves; record: 22-17-4), Legace (19:01 of 3rd period, 0 shots, 0 saves). Colorado, Roy (26 shots, 23 saves; record: 36-12-6). A: 18,007. Referees: Leggo, McGeough. Linesmen: Nelson, Mitton.
