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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The Colorado Avalanche are playing so
well that even an occasional misstep by goalie Patrick Roy is
allowable.
Roy surrendered a goal late in the third period, but it was just
about the only mistake Colorado made as the league-leading
Avalanche defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Saturday.
|  | | The Sharks shut down Peter Forsberg, center, and held him pointless, but they could not stop Joe Sakic. |
Joe Sakic, the NHL's top scorer, and Milan Hejduk each had a
goal and an assist as the Avalanche remained undefeated in six
games. In fact, Colorado's last loss in regulation was to the
Nashville Predators on Dec. 26.
"We did a solid job. We scored on the power play and we killed
off our penalties," Roy said. "This team is sharp. Everybody is
really focused."
The Sharks, who were precariously perched atop the Pacific
Division, are winless in their last four games -- their worst
stretch this season.
"They're a good hockey team but we gave them a little too much
respect," San Jose center Mike Ricci said. "We've got to play
with a little more zip."
San Jose has been adjusting to the loss of leading scorer
Vincent Damphousse, who could miss the remainder of the regular
season with a dislocated right shoulder. The star center has missed
two games, leaving San Jose to shuffle its top lines.
Hejduk scored his sixth goal in three games by beating Evgeni
Nabokov on a power play midway through the first period. Hejduk
knocked in Ray Bourque's shot from the blue line for his 27th goal.
Nabokov stopped 20 shots, and Roy made 21 saves for Colorado.
Colorado ranks fourth in the league on the power play, while the
Sharks ranked sixth in penalty killing. But it was a relatively
clean game, with just 12 penalty minutes between the two teams.
San Jose missed an opportunity with just less than three minutes
to go in the first when Scott Thornton faced Roy 1-on-1 in front of
the crease, but the shot went wide right.
The Avalanche went up 2-0 five minutes into the second on
Sakic's 27th goal of the season. Sakic, credited with an assist on
Hejduk's goal, has two goals and four assists in his last three
games.
"We talked a lot about neutralizing those guys," San Jose
coach Darryl Sutter said. "But with Sakic, if you can hold him to
one or two points, that's neutralizing him."
The Sharks peppered Roy with shots in the third, and finally
avoided the shutout with Owen Nolan's goal with 12:12 gone. Nolan
came up with the puck after a faceoff and his shot from the left
circle appeared to angle in off Roy's skate.
"It was bad luck, you know?" Roy said, explaining that he's
never been very lucky when it comes to shutout opportunities.
San Jose pulled Nabokov with 16 seconds left and took a time out
in a final effort to score.
After the game, the Sharks held a closed-door meeting and Sutter
was clearly disappointed with the effort of his team.
"The differences is one elite player vs. a number of elite
players," he said, singling out only Nolan.
Game notes
Three of the last five games between the Sharks and the
Avalanche have ended in ties. ... Roy is 17-4-3 overall against the
Sharks. ... The Avalanche are 9-20-4 against the Sharks, including
a 7-10-0 mark at the San Jose Arena. ... Sharks forward Todd Harvey
has missed nine games with a neck injury, but returned to practice
Friday. ... Colorado was without forward Adam Deadmarsh, who
sprained a knee in Thursday's victory over Vancouver.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
San Jose Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 3
Atlanta 2
Los Angeles 6
Carolina 3
Colorado 2
San Jose 1
NY Rangers 2
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
Tampa Bay 0
Philadelphia 5
Florida 3
Toronto 2
Buffalo 0
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 0
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Sharks' goalie Evgeni Nabokov stops a Shjon Podein blast from the blue line.
avi: 558 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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