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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) – This time, Stephane Yelle didn't miss the net.
Yelle, who hit the goal post in overtime of Game 3, scored on a
deflection at 4:23 of overtime as the Colorado Avalanche beat the
St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the
Western Conference final.
|  | | Blues goalie Roman Turek couldn't stop Stephane Yelle's quick deflection in overtime Friday night. |
Yelle redirected a shot by Rob Blake past Roman Turek, who had
recovered nicely after allowing goals on three consecutive shots in
a 1:18 span midway through the first period. It was Yelle's first
goal of the playoffs.
"It's so great for Yelle to get the winning goal after missing
that open net," coach Bob Hartley said. "Rob Blake made an
unbelievable play, and when you drive at the net you give yourself
a chance to tip some pucks, and that's what happened."
After Game 3, Yelle said his failure probably would stick with
him for a while.
"I was disappointed," Yelle said. "But the next day I knew we
had a big game and I had to get ready. It feels good. I can't
remember the last time I had a game-winner in overtime."
The Avalanche, who have lost in the conference finals the last
three years, can wrap up the series Monday night. Colorado was last
in the finals in 1996, and won the Stanley Cup that season.
"We don't feel great right now," Blues forward Scott Mellanby
said. "We're not doing cartwheels in here, that's for sure.
"This is going to be the ultimate test."
Joe Sakic, scoreless in Games 2 and 3, had a goal and an assist
for the Avalanche. Steve Reinprecht and Ray Bourque also scored
for Colorado, 5-2 on the road in the playoffs. The Avalanche had
been 0-3 in overtime in the postseason.
"We were due to win one in OT," Bourque said. "I'm sure happy
it happened. But it's far from being over because we know what kind
of team they have."
Pierre Turgeon had two goals and Jamal Mayers forced overtime
for the second straight game for the Blues, who rallied against
Patrick Roy. The Blues won 4-3 in double overtime in Game 3 on a
goal by Scott Young.
Mayers, who had eight goals in the regular season, tied it on
the Blues' first shot of the third. Mayers, stationed just outside
the crease, tapped a setup from behind the net by Jochen Hecht just
inside the far post at 58 seconds.
Turek, who has allowed seven first-period goals in the series,
was briefly pulled after allowing three goals on three shots in the
first period. The flurry silenced a sellout crowd of 20,072, the
Blues' largest of the season.
"I think you can't talk tonight about soft goals," Turek said.
"They didn't score a soft goal in this game. I could stop some of
the goals, but they weren't soft goals."
Reinprecht began the onslaught with a backhander at 14:13, the
result of hard work around the net by the Avalanche's checking
line. Sakic caught the Blues out of position at 15:17, camping at
the blue line for a pass from Alex Tanguay and scoring from the
left circle at 15:17.
Bourque made it 3-0 with a drive from the line 14 seconds later
on Colorado's seventh shot of the period.
Rookie Brent Johnson made his first appearance of the playoffs,
but it was brief. Coach Joel Quenneville put Turek back in at the
next stoppage in play 1:23 later.
The Avalanche didn't try to sit on the lead, and two
second-period goals by Turgeon put the Blues right back in the
game.
"In the past, we've been criticized for being too defensive,"
Avalanche forward Dave Reid said. "Tonight we were a little more
wide open than we wanted to be, and they were able to capitalize on
some great plays."
Pascal Rheaume, playing on the first line for the second
straight game after spending almost the entire season at Worcester
of the AHL, set up the first goal when he carried the puck to the
net. He passed at the last second to Turgeon, who scored into a
wide open net at 4:40.
Turgeon got his fifth goal of the playoffs at 9:24, finishing
off the play after Mayers crashed the net and Roy stopped Keith
Tkachuk's drive from close range.
Game notes
The Avalanche scored three goals in 38 seconds earlier in
the playoffs, with Peter Forsberg, Sakic and Eric Messier providing
a 3-0, second-period lead in Game 4 of a sweep of Vancouver on
April 18. ... Avalanche forward Jon Klemm went to the locker room
at 4:03 of the third with a knee injury after running into the
boards skates first. He did not return. Klemm has a goal and two
assists in 15 playoff games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Colorado 4
St. Louis 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Steve Reinprecht puts in the first goal of the game and his first career playoff goal.
avi: 1030 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
On the heels of Steve Reinprecht's goal, Joe Sakic gets the shot past Roman Turek.
avi: 780 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
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Roman Turek gives up his third goal in two minutes when Ray Bourque blows the slap shot by him.
avi: 1035 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
Pierre Turgeon gets the Blues on the board after the well-timed pass from Pascal Rheaume.
avi: 1208 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
Pierre Turgeon adds his second goal of the game and cuts the lead down to 3-2.
avi: 1235 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
Jamal Mayers completes the comeback, and ties the game at 3.
avi: 1544 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
Stephane Yelle settles the game in overtime and gives the Avs a 3-1 series lead.
avi: 1499 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
 Stephane Yelle can't remember the last time he had a game winning goal.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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