Patrick Roy's teammates seemed as happy as he did after Roy set the NHL victory mark Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON -- The NHL giveth: A questionable penalty to the Capitals in overtime.

And Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy taketh away: The all-time NHL wins record with No. 448 thanks to Colorado's 4-3 victory at the MCI Center on Tuesday night.

During the lengthy on-ice postgame celebration that included a video tribute and words of congratulations from the likes of comedians Mike Myers and Denis Leary and NHL Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis was inside the Washington dressing room talking with his winless club (0-4-2) and trying to find something positive to take away from a tough loss.

While speaking with goaltender Olaf Kolzig, Leonsis decided the best thing to do was offer congratulations to Roy in person.

So he did ... in the Colorado shower.

A tired Bourque credits Roy

Sitting at his locker in a soaking wet, black t-shirt with a pained look on his face, Ray Bourque looked more like he was on the team that just faced Patrick Roy for three-plus periods rather than the team that was in the midst of celebrating his record-breaking victory. "He deserves it," said Bourque of Roy, while trying to force a smile. "It's something special that while you're in, it you don't recognize it or you don't really appreciate it. "When we scored the game-winner, it wasn't like, 'all right for us,' it was, 'all right for Patrick. It's over, you've done it.' It was his night. The way he played, he played super to keep us in it because we certainly didn't play our best defensive game. "He allowed us to go into OT and win it for him." Bourque, who has scored more points against Roy than anyone else in NHL history (48 in 58 games from his Boston days), was a big key to the win. The defenseman recorded assists on three of Colorado's goals, including the game-winner. Peter Forsberg redirected a Bourque slap shot past Olaf Kolzig at 2:37 of overtime to start the celebration -- even if Bourque looked and sounded more relieved than happy when it was over. "We caught a break there," Bourque said. "They got a penalty and allowed us to go 4-on-3. If we don't get it done then, we don't deserve to win." -- David Albright

"I was honored to shake his hand, as wet as it was in the shower," Leonsis said. "Nothing can take away from his night. He earned this. He's a rock and our goalie and our team can take a lot of lessons from these guys."

But the prevailing emotion among the Avs was one of relief -- a clear sigh could be heard every time a Colorado player was asked about getting this milestone behind them.

"The game felt like a playoff game with all the media attention and just everything surrounding the whole situation," said Ray Bourque, who assisted on the game-winning, power-play goal in overtime.

"I'm just happy that we won it tonight and that we don't have to drag it on," Bourque said. "After a while that could be tough, so we wanted to try and get it done as quick as we could."

Defenseman Adam Foote drew the crucial crosschecking major from Richard Zednik at 1:41 of overtime, giving the Avs the decisive power play.

"Patrick, as always, helped us out, and we got the win," Foote said. "We realized we had a letdown in the second, but good teams find a way to get it done."

After jumping to a 2-0 lead after one period, Colorado had more than a few defensive lapses and let the Caps back into the game. Washington took its only lead of the night at 3-2 in the opening minute of the third, but the Avalanche answered quickly when Joe Sakic tied it up at 3:27.

"We got it back, and once we got it back, we said, 'Let's not mess around anymore; let's get it done,' and we showed a lot of character," Foote said.

From there, with a little help from the officials, it was destined to be Roy's night.

Thanks in part to the power play, the Avalanche outshot the Caps 5-0 in the extra period, and Peter Forsberg got the game-winner at 2:37 when he redirected Bourque's shot past Kolzig.

"When it comes down to overtime you've got nothing to lose. You've got to go for it, and I thought we really did that," Forsberg said. "When they got the penalty, I thought it was just a matter of time before we got a chance to score."

Kolzig couldn't agree more -- at least about it being just a matter of time before Roy skated off with the record.

"We gave it to them," he said. "You can't take a penalty like that in overtime. A three-on-four against that team is goodnight. They are so patient with the puck, it was just a matter of time before they scored."

Try 56 seconds.

Despite the difficult defeat, Leonsis took the high road to the end. "It was a historic night," he said. "We got a point out of it, played our hearts out, and if you're going lose, I guess it's the way to go out -- lose to the greatest goalie of all time."

David Albright is a Senior Editor for ESPN.com.