Saturday, May 26 Avs find a winning combination in Game 1 Associated Press DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche have found a simple winning formula. Get ahead, stay ahead, and make sure Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic arrive at the arena safely. Sakic Roy After trailing for just 52 seconds in their five-game series with St. Louis, the Avs picked up where they left off against the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night. Sakic scored 11:07 into the game, and Roy never let the Devils gain any momentum, recording his 18th playoff shutout to extend his own NHL record in Colorado's 5-0 victory. "They're an unbelievable part of this team," Avalanche forward Dan Hinote said. "Without them, we wouldn't be here." The Avalanche, taking advantage of home ice after leading the NHL with 118 points, have not trailed in six of their past seven games and improved to 10-0 when scoring first in the playoffs. "We knew they were going to come out storming," Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "They always play well in the first period. Roy made saves when he had to." Roy, contending with Sakic for postseason MVP honors, won his ninth straight Stanley Cup game dating to Game 2 of the 1993 Finals against Los Angeles. He was in goal for Colorado's triple-overtime shutout that completed a four-game sweep of Florida in 1996. It's been so long, Roy could not recall who scored against him last. "Good question," he said. "I know it's against the Florida Panthers but I can't remember. Sorry about that. It was in the first period. That's all I can remember." Since Florida's Rob Niedermayer scored at 11:19 of the first period in Game 3 of the '96 Finals, Roy has a Stanley Cup finals shutout streak of 213 minute, 12 seconds. The streak nearly ended late in the first period against the Devils, but Roy stopped John Madden with a pad save to thwart a 2-on-1 chance. "I mentioned to Ray (Bourque) after the game, I thought that was my key save of the game, my most important save," Roy said. Like Roy, Sakic is playing big on the eve of free agency. After scoring only three goals in the 2000 playoffs, he has 11 goals and nine assists in 16 games this year, tying teammate Milan Hejduk for the postseason scoring lead. Game 1 was a microcosm of Sakic's steady play as he opened the scoring with sizzling wrister, and he had New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens swimming on the ice during a 4-on-4 late in the second period. As Stevens flailed on his stomach, Sakic skated into the slot and used teammate Alex Tanguay and Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer as a perfect screen to easily beat goalie Martin Brodeur. The two goals answered questions about whether Sakic, Tanguay and Hejduk would be able to succeed where Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr failed in the Eastern Conference finals. Able to make the final line change on faceoffs, Colorado coach Bob Hartley made sure Sakic's line avoided New Jersey's defensive line led by forward Bobby Holik. The Avs also quieted critics who wondered how they could beat the Devils after being outscored 12-4 in two regular-season losses. By the time Sakic's second goal gave Colorado a 3-0 lead, it was just a matter of waiting for Roy to get his third shutout of the playoffs, one behind Brodeur. "If he sees it coming, he is going to stop it," Colorado defenseman Rob Blake said. "He has been a wall back there." Roy improved to 6-9 in his career versus Brodeur, who pattered his style after Roy while growing up in Montreal. More importantly, Roy is 1-0 in the playoffs against the goalie he inspired and Colorado immediately sent a message to the defending champion Devils. Stay ahead of the Avalanche or risk being buried. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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