Avalanche Blows Lead, Wins in Overtime

One sure way to aggravate a coach is to blow a three-goal lead in the third period. One way to lessen his anger is to win the game anyway.

Valeri Kamensky scored his third goal of the game at 3:04 of overtime to give Colorado a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night at Pittsburgh.

The victory extended the Avalanche’s unbeaten streak to 10 games.

“They redeemed themselves in overtime,� Colorado Coach Marc Crawford said. “We had a little bit of a brain cramp in the third period but we redeemed ourselves in overtime.�

The Avalanche has gone 6-0-4 since losing, 3-1, at Calgary on Dec. 12, but this one turned out to be more difficult than it should have been.

The Penguins rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third, outshooting Colorado, 15-1, in the period.

“We sat on it,� Crawford said. “Our first shift of the third period was indicative of how you don’t want to start a third period when you have a lead.�

Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy had all the action at his end and the Penguins tied it on a fluke goal. Robert Dome followed up on Rob Brown’s backhander, and when the puck went through Roy’s pads, Dome pushed the puck over the goal line.

The Penguins lost for the first time in overtime after going 3-0-8. The Avalanche won for the first time after two losses and 13 ties.

The Avalanche got only 14 shots in the game.

Kamensky scored when he stationed himself at the corner of the net and knocked Alexei Gusarov’s pass into the net.

“We had more shots [two] in overtime than we did in the third period,� Crawford said.

Boston 3, San Jose 0--Two former King goaltenders are going in different directions.

The Bruins’ Byron Dafoe continued to benefit from a strong defensive front as the Bruins won at Boston, while the Sharks’ Kelly Hrudey experienced more scoring deficiencies by his teammates.

Anson Carter scored a second-period goal to end Boston’s scoring drought and Dafoe stopped 23 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.

It was Dafoe’s second consecutive shutout and the sixth of his career.

“This is new territory for me,� said Dafoe, who had just one shutout in 97 games with the Kings and Washington Capitals before the Bruins acquired him in an offseason trade.

“It’s a tribute to the way they’ve been playing in front of me,� he said. “This is a different type of goaltending. I’m not getting the same shots I did the last few years [with the Kings]. I’ve said all along that we’re going to win hockey games playing good defense.�

Carter’s goal stopped Boston’s scoreless stretch at 137:31, its previous score coming in the first period of a 2-2 tie in Toronto two games ago. The Bruins played to a 0-0 tie against Ottawa in their last game Thursday.

San Jose continued its scoring struggles with Hrudey in goal. In the 13 games Hrudey has played, the Sharks have scored just 21 goals, more than one per game below their average (2.75) with Mike Vernon in goal.

“I’m at the point in my career that I can accept it and deal with it,� said the 36-year-old Hrudey of the lack of scoring. “Unlike when I was 25, when I thought I had to steal a game.�

New Jersey 4, Toronto 2--Goaltender Martin Brodeur, who had missed the previous two games--both losses--because of flu, made 29 saves to lead the Devils over the Maple Leafs at East Rutherford, N.J.

“Obviously, we know how good Marty is, and what he brings to this club,� said Doug Gilmour, who had a goal and an assist against his former teammates.

Brodeur, who has not lost to Toronto in six decisions (4-0-2), said, “It feels good to be back out there. The last four days seemed like two weeks to me. It was tough seeing the team go through that little span, and it was tough not being there to help them.�

Brodeur was not 100%, but felt well enough in the pregame warmup to give it shot despite a persistent cough.

New Jersey improved to 9-3-2 over the last 14 games.

Philadelphia 7, Ottawa 2--Eric Lindros scored on his first two shots and a had two assists in a 12-point game for his line as the Flyers beat the Senators at Ottawa.

It was Ottawa’s fourth and final loss this season to the Flyers, who have won the past 12 meetings. The game was the fourth of a seven-game, 16-day swing for Philadelphia, now on a 9-1-1 run.

Lindros’ left wing, Rod Brind’Amour also had two goals and two assists. Right wing Trent Klatt added four assists.

Dallas 6, Carolina 1--Defenseman Darryl Sydor, playing on the front line for the Stars because of injuries to Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk, got his first career hat trick in his 436th game as the Stars defeated the Hurricanes at Greensboro, N.C.

It was also the first NHL hat trick ever in North Carolina.

“I took him as a kid and made him play defense and now I’m making him play forward,� said Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock, who coached Sydor in the minors. “Darryl has good speed and he’s a really conscientious player.�

The Stars have a nine-game unbeaten streak, while the Hurricanes have lost nine of their last 12.

New York Rangers 3, Washington 2--Wayne Gretzky scored his second goal of the game with 22 seconds left in the third period as the Rangers rallied to beat the Capitals at Washington.

The Rangers limited the Capitals to eight shots over the final two periods and improved to 2-16-5 when trailing after the second.

Phoenix 2, New York Islanders 1--Keith Tkachuk scored with 13.6 seconds remaining to lift the surging Coyotes to a victory over the Islanders at Phoenix.

Bob Corkum also scored for the Coyotes, who have won five straight games and are unbeaten in their last six. The winning streak is Phoenix’s longest since moving from Winnipeg prior to the 1996-97 season.

Nikolai Khabibulin made 24 saves for Phoenix.

St. Louis 4, Calgary 3--Chris Pronger scored a goal and assisted on another and Grant Fuhr stopped 33 shots to lead the Blues over the Flames at St. Louis.

The Blues were without their top two scorers, Brett Hull and Geoff Courtnall, who were sidelined by injuries.

Montreal 4, Vancouver 2--Mark Recchi scored two of the Canadiens’ four second-period goals as Montreal rallied for a 2-0 first-period deficit to win at Vancouver.

Shayne Corson and Vincent Damphousse also scored for the Canadiens. All but Damphousse’s unassisted goal came on a power play.