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DENVER (AP) – With the arrival of Rob Blake, Chris Drury lost
his place as a point man on the power play.
It didn't matter as Drury scored twice, once on the power play,
and Peter Forsberg had a goal and two assists as the Colorado
Avalanche continued their domination of the Minnesota Wild 4-1
Friday night.
|  | | Rob Blake, right, made his debut with the Avs, and helped keep the Wild away from goalie Patrick Roy. |
"I don't mind a bit to slide down and back to my normal
position," said Drury, who has three goals and six assists in four
games. "It helps when you have one of the best alltime in Ray
Bourque on one side and now getting one of the best shooters in the
league in Rob Blake."
Forsberg continued his hot pace and has five goals and nine
assists in his past four games. Joe Sakic, the NHL scoring leader,
added a short-handed goal. Blake got an assist in his first game
with Colorado since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings.
"The chemistry felt good," Blake said. "It is easy to come to
a team like this, because all you have to do is fit in. You don't
have to do anything special."
Patrick Roy stopped 20 shots to improve to 32-9-6. Colorado,
which has won three straight, had shut out the Wild in the two
previous meetings and has outscored them 11-1 this season.
"Right now Chris Drury is getting rewarded very well for his
efforts," coach Bob Hartley said. "He is skating well and his
confidence is great with the puck."
Sylvain Blouin accounted for Minnesota's lone goal, his third in
three games after going parts of four NHL seasons without a goal.
Jamie McLennan had 25 saves for the Wild, losers of four of
their last five.
"With the Blake deal, the Avalanche were really ready to
play," Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. "We played hard, but
it is hard to match with that team."
Colorado broke open the game with second-period goals by Sakic
and Drury.
With the Avalanche short-handed and after Roy stopped Scott
Pellerin from close range, Sakic and Forsberg worked a give-and-go
in the Wild zone. McLennan stopped Forsberg at point-blank range,
but left the puck in the crease for Sakic to send it home.
"They go to the net so hard," McLennan said. "If you make the
first save and leave it out front, somebody is going to get to the
puck."
Drury's first goal was set up on a feed from Ville Nieminen, who
had two assists. Drury faked McLennan to the ice and chipped in the
puck.
Drury's slap shot from the slot early in the third period on a
power play increased the Colorado lead to 4-1.
"I went through stretches where I wasn't as aggressive," Drury
said. "I'd be looking to pass before shooting it, but now with
Nieminen driving to the net and Forsberg there somewhere I have
been shooting."
The game was tied after the first period. Blouin deflected
Fillip Kuba's shot from the left point past Roy, and Forsberg
matched it with his 23rd of the year on a power play.
Blake fed Ray Bourque, who had two assists, in the right circle
and Forsberg tapped Bourque's cross-ice pass past McLennan.
Game notes
Blouin's first-period goal was the first for Minnesota
against the Avalanche this year and ended a 125-minute, 53-second
scoring drought against Colorado. ... Minnesota has been tied or
ahead after one period in 41 of its last 48 games. ... The Wild
have scored 39 times in 25 games started by McLennan. ... Avalanche
defenseman Nolan Pratt wore No. 44, surrendering No. 4 to Blake.
... Colorado has outscored opponents 22-9 in its last four games.
... The Avalanche, 2-for-3 on the power play, have 14 power-play
goals in the last nine games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
Avs acquire Blake from Kings to bolster title hopes
Clement: The Blake Effect
Frei: The Cup or bust
Johnson: Over and out in L.A.
RECAPS
Phoenix 7
Buffalo 3
Carolina 3
New Jersey 2
Washington 3
Montreal 1
Pittsburgh 6
NY Rangers 4
Detroit 4
St. Louis 2
Chicago 1
Atlanta 0
Dallas 5
Boston 4
Colorado 4
Minnesota 1
San Jose 3
Anaheim 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Both Rob Blake and Ray Bourque each get an assist on the Peter Forsberg goal.
avi: 836 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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