DENVER (AP) -- Chasing a playoff spot is helping Patrick Roy as he chases history.

Roy moved into a tie with Jacques Plante for second place on the NHL's career victory list, and the Colorado Avalanche broke out of a scoring slump, beating the New Jersey Devils 5-0 Thursday night.

	Goalie Patrick Roy accepts congratulations from teammates after his landmark victory.

"Last time I tied up (Tony) Esposito, and now it's Plante. To be part of this group means a lot," Roy said. "I think it helps right now having to focus more on winning games for the team than worrying about trying to reach somebody."

Roy, who has 434 career victories in 15 seasons, made 24 saves for his 48th career shutout. He needs 13 more wins to tie Terry Sawchuk's NHL record.

"One thing was for sure. If we win a game, the milestone would come with it," Roy said. "It's a huge win for us. I'm not saying it's a relief, but it's a big win."

The victory came in front of former Montreal coach Mario Tremblay, whose feud with Roy led to the goalie's trade to Colorado in December 1995. Tremblay is a scout for the Canadiens.

"We've talked together a lot lately," Roy said. "Everything is perfect between the two of us. I hate to go back on that, but I had 10 great years in Montreal, and I'm extremely happy where I am right now."

Fourteen of Roy's victories have come against New Jersey. He also became the first goalie to shut out the Eastern Conference-leading Devils since Jan. 2, 1999 -- a span of 111 games.

"We played pond hockey," said Devils forward Claude Lemieux, "and you can't do that."

Joe Sakic led Colorado's rejuvenated scoring attack with two goals and an assist as the Avalanche took advantage of New Jersey's Martin Brodeur for the second time in two weeks.

After giving up five goals to Colorado in a 5-5 tie Feb. 17, Brodeur surrendered four more in a 7:07 span of the second period. The Avalanche scored a total of four goals in four games.

"It took about six minutes for us to get out of the game," Brodeur said. "For the rest of the game, it wasn't that bad. That six minutes was just horrible."

Sakic and Adam Deadmarsh scored 21 seconds apart midway through the period, and Alex Tanguay redirected a shot by Milan Hejduk past Brodeur to give Colorado its fastest three-goal flurry (1:34) of the season.

	NHL wins leaders
	Goaltender	Wins
	Terry Sawchuk	447
	Patrick Roy	434
	Jacques Plante	434
	Tony Esposito	423
	Glenn Hall	407
	Grant Fuhr	403
	Andy Moog	372
	Mike Vernon	364
	Rogatien Vachon	355
	John Vanbiesbrouck	354
	Tom Barrasso	350
	Gump Worsley	335
	Harry Lumley	333
	Billy Smith	305
	Ed Belfour	303
	Turk Broda	302

"We've had tons of chances. We just couldn't find a way to put the puck in the net," Sakic said. "In the second period, they just seemed to come in bunches. Everybody's pretty relieved that it started going in."

The production seemed to satisfy former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and team owner Pat Bowlen. They watched the first 40 minutes from the press box before leaving during the second intermission.

Those who stayed saw Roy tie Plante after failing in three attempts. Colorado also ended a five-game winless streak and pulled within four points of first-place Edmonton in the Northwest Division .

"This game isn't a game that will make a season," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said, "but it's definitely very encouraging. We finally got rewarded."

Lemieux, traded from Colorado to New Jersey on Nov. 3, was ineffective in his return. He took a penalty that led to Tanguay's goal that put the Avalanche ahead 3-0.

"We came out and just didn't have that jump, and you've got to have that jump against skill players," Devils coach Robbie Ftorek said. "We didn't do a lot right, and they used their speed well."