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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche kept rolling, even with
another big name out of the lineup.
Joe Sakic had a goal and two assists, and Peter Forsberg had two
first-period assists before injuring his right arm in a 3-1 victory
over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
|  | | David Aebischer, starting for the injured Patrick Roy, made 27 saves for the Avalanche on Thursday. |
Forsberg wasn't on the bench the last two periods but said the
injury wasn't serious, calling it a bruise. The Avalanche's No. 2
scorer with 86 points could play Saturday at Boston.
"It's not bad," Forsberg said. "It's bruised and was tough to
move. It's pretty tough to continue when your arm hurts."
Forsberg said he was injured just before Milan Hejduk's
power-play goal midway through the first period when he tried to
protect the puck and his arm got jammed.
The Avalanche, who lead the NHL with 109 points, have won four
in a row and have lost only once (12-1-1-2) in 16 games. They began
the game without goalie Patrick Roy, who is day to day with knee
tendinitis, and defenseman Rob Blake, who has a sprained knee.
"We're trying to secure the best possible playoff spot and
there's no sense giving life to anyone," coach Bob Hartley said.
"We're going for the jugular."
Colorado leaned heavily on rookie backup goalie David Aebischer
the last two periods. The Blues had a 10-4 shot advantage in the
second period and 15-4 the third, but got only a third-period
power-play goal from Jochen Hecht.
"I didn't have much to do in the first period, but then they
really came on," Aebischer said. "They were desperate."
Ville Nieminen wrapped it up for Colorado, beating rookie Brent
Johnson on a power play with 1:28 to go. Sakic, who has a goal in
each of the last five games, assisted on the play.
The victory set a franchise record for points for Colorado,
which had 107 in 1996-97.
The Blues have the NHL's best home record at 25-5-4-3, but have
lost twice at the Savvis Center this month to the Avalanche.
Colorado also won 5-2 on March 8.
St. Louis also lost 4-3 in overtime at home on Tuesday to the
New York Islanders, who are last overall in the NHL. The Blues, who
were first overall in the league in the middle of February, have
won only once (1-6-3-1) in 11 games.
Trade deadline deals for Keith Tkachuk and Cory Stillman haven't
helped yet.
"I think we're all used to each other, and a lot of teams made
trades," Tkachuk said. "We can use that as an excuse but that's
all it is, an excuse."
Colorado dominated the first period, outshooting the Blues 9-0
before Tkachuk nearly scored on a deflection at about the 11-minute
mark, and 14-3 overall. Both early goals came on the power play.
Sakic got his 45th on a 2-on-1 with Forsberg at 6:24, scoring
off the backhand.
"It was just a rocket, almost like a backhand slap shot,"
Johnson said.
Hejduk got his 41st at 9:04 with a quick shot off a setup from
behind the net by Forsberg, with Sakic also assisting.
"The game was basically lost in the first 20 minutes," Blues
coach Joel Quenneville said. "The start wasn't what we look for."
Hecht deflected a slap shot from Al MacInnis for his 19th goal
at 2:11 of the third.
Game notes
Blues forward Tyson Nash will be out indefinitely after
reinjuring his right knee in the first period. Nash missed 16 games
with a torn ligament and this was his second game back. ... Pierre
Turgeon played in the 1,000th game of his career. ... Colorado is
61-15-9-1 the last two seasons when scoring the first goal. ...
Hejduk has four goals and five assists his last six games. ...
Colorado won the season series 2-1-1. ... Quenneville, a former
assistant with the Avalanche, is 4-11-3 against his old team.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
Injured Forsberg may play for Avs Saturday
RECAPS
Boston 3
Montreal 2
Detroit 4
Minnesota 2
Atlanta 2
Tampa Bay 0
Nashville 2
Chicago 1
Colorado 3
St. Louis 1
Calgary 3
Philadelphia 1
Ottawa 2
San Jose 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joe Sakic breaks free and puts the backhand past Brent Johnson.
avi: 823 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Peter Forsberg sneaks the pass to Milan Hejduk in front of the net for the goal.
avi: 991 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Al MacInnis' slap shot gets a friendly redirection from Jochen Hecht for the score.
avi: 1183 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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