NEW YORK, 16 February 2004 — Peter Forsberg picked up a goal and two assists and David Aebischer made 28 saves to push the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the host Detroit Red Wings Saturday.
The win helped Colorado race four points ahead of the Red Wings atop the Western Conference standings. The Avalanche is also tied with Philadelphia for the NHL’s overall points lead.
Joe Sakic and Alex Tanguay both had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who produced three unanswered markers in the third period to sink the league’s best home team. Aebischer made several saves in the first two periods before Colorado took over in the third, out-shooting Detroit 14-9.
Teemu Selanne and Karlis Skrastins scored the other Avalanche goals on Detroit netminder Manny Legace.
Legace pulled off 25 stops as he took over from Curtis Joseph, who is sidelined at least a week with an ankle injury, and Dominik Hasek, out for the season with a groin problem. Steve Yzerman and Jiri Fischer netted for the Red Wings, who had their season-high six-game unbeaten streak snapped.
In Philadelphia, Sean Burke made 25 saves to post his 300th career win as the Flyers beat the New York Rangers 6-2.
Burke, acquired from the Phoenix Coyotes earlier this week, became the 20th goalie to reach the milestone.
Both of his victories with Philadelphia have come at the expense of the Rangers, who are slipping further away from a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Patrick Sharp tallied twice for the Flyers, who are nine points ahead of the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games.
Radovan Somik, John LeClair, Michal Handzus and Tony Amonte also scored for the Flyers while Kim Johnsson picked up three assists. Chris Simon and Alexei Kovalev replied for the Rangers, who were without Jaromir Jagr due to a groin injury. New York’s Bobby Holik played his 1,000th NHL game.
In East Rutherford, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta both had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jeff Friesen and Mike Rupp also scored for the Devils, who have not lost four straight since November 2001. Jeff O’Neill replied for Carolina, 0-4-2 in its last six games. Martin Brodeur made 14 saves to record the win as New Jersey stayed nine points behind Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division.
In Chicago, Tuomo Ruutu netted with one minute left in overtime to give the Blackhawks their season-high third straight win, a 2-1 decision over the Boston Bruins.
Ruutu knocked his own rebound into the net past Boston goalie Andrew Raycroft.
Chicago rookie Craig Anderson made 31 saves to pick up his fourth victory of the season. Bryan Berard scored the other Hawks goal on a power play in the second period. PJ Axelsson replied for the Bruins.
In Ottawa, Zdeno Chara grabbed a goal and two assists to lead the Senators past the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. Steve Begin bagged two goals for Montreal.
In Columbus, Marco Sturm tallied at 4:43 of overtime as the San Jose Sharks edged the Blue Jackets 2-1. Marc Denis made 48 saves for the Blue Jackets. Brad Stuart scored the other goal for San Jose.
In Toronto, Ales Kotalik notched the go-ahead goal in the third period to rally the Buffalo Sabres to a 6-4 win over the Maple Leafs. Toronto led 3-0 late in the second period before the Sabres roared back.
In Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier collected a goal and an assist to steer the Lightning to a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Martin St. Louis added his seventh short-handed goal of the season for Tampa Bay, tops in the NHL.
In St. Louis, Eric Boguniecki scored at 2:06 of overtime to earn the Blues a 3-2 win over the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blues won for only the second time in 12 games against the Penguins, who have lost 14 in a row.
In Phoenix, Daymond Langkow and Ladislav Nagy both had a goal and an assist as the Coyotes overcame the Dallas Stars 3-2. Phoenix ended an eight-game winless streak while Dallas lost for the first time in nine.
In Vancouver, Sergei Fedorov recorded an assist to become the first Russian to chalk up 1,000 career points in the NHL as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks edged the Canucks 2-1.
