| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
DETROIT (AP) -- A year ago, Colorado eliminated the Detroit Red Wings from the NHL playoffs in six games. It might not take the Avalanche that long this time.
Chris Drury's goal at 10:21 of overtime lifted Colorado to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night and gave the Avs a commanding 3-1 lead over the Red Wings in their Western Conference semifinal series.
|  | | Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote loses his helmet while being checked by Martin Lapointe in front of goalie Patrick Roy. |
"I thought we battled hard," Detroit forward Doug Brown said. "But, sometimes the puck goes the other way."
In this case, it went the other way after Detroit defenseman Steve Duchesne got caught out of position. Duchesne followed Red Wings forward Steve Yzerman into the offensive zone. When the puck ended up on a Colorado stick, Duchesne couldn't get back, leaving Chris Chelios all alone to defend a three-man rush.
It was no contest.
Drury snapped his third goal of the playoffs past Detroit goalie Chris Osgood from the slot off nice passes from Peter Forsberg and
Adam Deadmarsh.
"It's pretty exciting," Drury said. "It was like a dream come
true to score a goal like that."
Jon Klemm and Dave Andreychuk also scored for the Avs, who return home for Friday's Game 5 of the best-of-seven series. A
sixth game, if needed, would be Sunday in Detroit.
"I think we've got to look at the next game like a Game 7," Drury said. "We don't want to come back here. We want to finish them off."
Vyacheslav Kozlov and Tomas Holmstrom scored for the Red Wings who have been eliminated from the playoffs the last three times
they have fallen behind 2-0. Colorado won the opening two games of the series at home.
Only once has Detroit coach Scotty Bowman guided a team through
a 2-0 deficit to win a series. That was in 1992 when he coached
Pittsburgh past Washington.
"You just go in and think of the next game," Bowman said.
"You can't think beyond the next game. It's not like we're getting
whipped or there's a big edge either way. We're capable of winning
the next game. That's how I look at it."
The Avs didn't appear to miss star defenseman Ray Bourque, who sprained his left knee Monday night and sat out this game.
Kozlov, on his 28th birthday, scored his second goal to give
Detroit a 2-1 lead at 9:12 of the third period while Deadmarsh was
off for high-sticking Pat Verbeek.
But the Avs tied it 2-2 with 4:27 remaining when Osgood, trying to clear Andreychuk's shot, scooped the puck into the net.
Avs goalie Patrick Roy made a spectacular save on Kozlov in the slot at 5:42 of overtime. Osgood stopped Forsberg from the left
circle at 8:19 of the extra stanza.
Detroit outshot the Avs 25-16 during the first three periods of the close-checking, heavy-hitting contest and 7-5 in overtime.
"We played the type of game we wanted to play," Chelios said. "We had a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes to play. Then, we got running around a little bit, and it cost us."
Klemm's first playoff goal gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 3:37 of
the second, marking the third time in the series the Avs have
scored first. Klemm, camped on the right side of the net, took a
nice pass from Joe Sakic and snapped it between Osgood's legs.
Holmstrom, by far the Red Wings' best player on this night, took
a pass from Brown at the right side of the Colorado goal and slid
the puck between Roy's pads for his third goal and a 1-1 tie at
9:47 of the second.
The game was full of hard checks throughout. During one shift in
the first period, Avs defenseman Adam Foote took on Darren McCarty
and Martin Lapointe. Foote, who stepped up his game in the absence of Bourque, lost his headgear taking McCarty into the corner, but still came back to bump Lapointe away from Roy in front of the
crease.
Both Roy and Osgood came up with tough saves in the first
period. The Red Wings came closest to a goal in the first 20
minutes when Brown flipped the puck past Roy at 7:36. It was waved
off, however, because Holstrom was checked into the net, knocking
it off one post.
Holmstrom had a good chance near the left post with one minute
left in the first, but couldn't get the puck past Roy.
Each goalie came up with nice saves late in the second. Osgood
robbed Sandis Ozolinsh, who got free in the right circle with 3:45 left in the period and Roy stopped Kozlov from the right circle
with 1:28 left in the second. Osgood also handled a clear shot from
the right circle by Forsberg with 51 seconds remaining in the
period.
Six of the 10 goals during the first three games came on power
plays, but penalties weren't much of a factor in this game until
late. Referees Kerry Fraser and Dave Jackson called two penalties,
one on each team, in the first 2:19.
There wasn't another penalty called until Chelios was sent off
for high-sticking Forsberg at 2:04 of the third period. Thirty-nine
seconds later, Forsberg was called for interference on Brendan
Shanahan.
Then came Deadmarsh's double-minor for drawing blood on Verbeek.
Kozlov scored eight seconds later.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
Colorado 3
Detroit 2
Toronto 3
New Jersey 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Chris Drury's overtime goal wins it for Colorado.
avi: 1200 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jon Klemm and the Avalanche strike first.
avi: 979 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom ties the game up.
avi: 867 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Vyacheslav Kozlov makes it 2-1 on this power play goal.
avi: 996 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Dave Andreychuk goal forces overtime.
avi: 940 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Chris Drury describes scoring the game-winner.
wav: 81 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Coach Bob Hartley calls it a great win over a great team.
wav: 65 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
