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BOX SCORE
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Peter Forsberg doesn't need
much to create a scoring chance. With some open ice he moved the
Colorado Avalanche very close to the second round.
|  | | The Avs' Peter Forsberg delivers the winning shot against Canucks goalie Bob Essensa. |
Forsberg scored 2:50 into overtime to give the Avalanche a 4-3
victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night and a 3-0 lead
in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
With the teams playing four-on-four, Forsberg beat Vancouver
defenseman Murray Baron on the outside and cut hard through the
crease before roofing a forehand shot over sprawling goalie Bob
Essensa. The goal snapped a 13-game scoring drought.
Just before Forsberg scored, Avalanche defenseman Steve
Reinprecht was called for hooking. After the whistle, Canucks
forward Todd Bertuzzi received a roughing penalty to negate the
Vancouver power play.
"I thought they got a little mixed up," Forsberg said of the
Canucks, who scored the first goal for the third straight game.
"Every game we've had has been tight and we're fortunate to pull
it out."
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is at Vancouver on Wednesday
night. A fifth game, if necessary, would be Saturday at Colorado.
Joe Sakic, Chris Drury and Adam Foote also scored for the
Avalanche, and Milan Hejduk added a pair of assists as Colorado
once again found a way to win a close game.
"It was a very interesting game," Colorado coach Bob Hartley
said. "Once again it came down to the last shot. Peter Forsberg
found a way to get us the win. Not too many players in the league
can score like Peter Forsberg."
Vancouver led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 but all three times the Avalanche
answered before the period ended.
Trent Klatt, Todd Bertuzzi and Daniel Sedin scored for the
Canucks, who were playing their first playoff game in Vancouver
since April 27, 1996.
The sellout crowd of 18,422 greeted the home team with lots of
noise and a sea of waving white towels, a tradition that started
during the Canucks 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals.
Bertuzzi gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead 5:32 into the third period,
but Foote tied it on the power play at 9:52.
The Canucks jumped out to a 1-0 lead for the third straight game
when Klatt put a power-play rebound past Patrick Roy 6:13 into the
first, but Joe Sakic responded for the Avalanche with 2:24 left in
the period.
Sakic, who has three goals in the series, had Colorado's best
chances through most of the night, but he rang three shots off the
goal post and was robbed twice by the glove of Essensa.
Sedin restored the Vancouver lead 1:37 into the second period
when he knocked a puck out of Roy's glove and over the goal line.
Roy made the initial save off a Todd Bertuzzi redirection in front
of the net and appeared to smother the puck with his glove hand,
but Sedin knocked it loose before the whistle blew.
Drury tied it at 8:37 when he took a pass from Hejduk behind the
net and backhanded a shot past Essensa, who expected Hejduk to try
a wraparound and got caught looking the wrong way.
Roy finished with 20 saves for Colorado. Essensa stopped 28
shots in regulation, but didn't make a save in overtime.
Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque played after missing the first
two games with a strained back sustained during the final
regular-season game.
Vancouver defenseman Scott Lachance couldn't play after
spraining a ligament in his left knee early in the second period of
Saturday's 2-1 loss.
Game notes
The Canucks, already missing their top two scorers, Markus
Naslund (broken leg) and Andrew Cassels (sprained ankle), also were
without winger Peter Schaefer after he sustained a charley horse
during a collision with Colorado D Rob Blake in Game 2. ...
Vancouver D Jason Strudwick returned to the lineup after being a
healthy scratch in Game 2. Bryan Allen, a former first-round pick
who was recalled from Kansas City of the IHL on Sunday night,
played his first NHL playoff game as the Canucks dressed seven
defensemen and 11 forwards.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
Canucks-Avalanche Series Page
Crawford hit with $15,000 fine for comments on officials
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 3
Washington 0
Toronto 3
Ottawa 2
Philadelphia 3
Buffalo 2
St. Louis 6
San Jose 3
Colorado 4
Vancouver 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Colorado's Peter Forsberg scores the game-winning goal 2:50 into overtime.
avi: 1200 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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