Patrick Roy made 20 saves and Peter Forsberg had three assists as the Colorado Avalanche continued their dominance over the Vancouver Canucks with a 6-1 victory.
Forsberg's three assists give him a league-leading 30 assists and 42 points. Colorado avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season and has outscored Vancouver, 19-4 in winning all three meetings this season.
The Canucks, who were without seven regulars due to illness and injury, dropped to 1-4-1 in their last six games. Mike Ridley's 10th goal 4:07 into the third period spoiled Roy's bid for a league-best sixth shutout.
"Of course I take responsibilty for the team," said Vancouver coach Tom Renney. "When we're losing it's always my fault and when we're winning it's theirs. That's how a good coach can lead by example. I think some of our skill players aren't playing like our best players now."
Roy stoppped all 17 shots he faced over the first two periods, improving to 16-6-1 lifetime against Vancouver.
"We played really well today," Roy said. "Our offense was clicking, especially the power play. We haven't been doing that in the last few games. We've been practicing hard all week and those three power-play goals were big tonight."
Scott Young's 10th goal, a power-play marker, opened the scoring 4:10 into the game. Young had the puck at the right point before working a give-and-go with Joe Sakic. After passing to Sakic in the right faceoff circle, Young beat goaltender Corey Hirsch over the stick side from the low slot.
"The first goal by Scott Young really got us going early," said Colorado coach Marc Crawford. "In the last couple of losses we had early chances but couldn't get anything. Our timing was excellent tonight. We'd get a goal and the confidence would get boosted. Every team's better when it's confident."
Sakic's 13th goal doubled the score just 1:36 later. After Ridley's took a shot that hit the post, Sakic, Mike Keane and Adam Deadmarsh began a 3-on-2 into the Vancouver zone. Sakic finished the break as he whistled a slap shot over Hirsch's left shoulder from just inside the blue line.
Valeri Kamensky's 11th goal gave the Avalanche a 3-0 lead 5:52 into the second. Kamensky took a pass from Forsberg and lifted a wrist shot into the top right corner of the net from the bottom right circle.
"I'm feelling really good, really confident that I can go out there and do something," said Forsberg. "We've got a good team and some good lines. Every game we go out and try to outwork the opposition. As long as we do that I think we can beat any team in the league."
Sandis Ozolinsh's ninth goal, a power-play tally, gave Colorado a 4-0 advantage with 9:34 left in the second. Keith Jones scored his ninth goal with 2:47 left in the second for a 5-0 bulge.
Adam Deadmarsh's eighth goal, a power-play tally, capped the scoring 22 seconds into the third.
Jon's 3 stars:
1. Adam Deadmarsh
2. Peter Forsberg
3. Valeri Kamensky
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