No Collapse For Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche, who had been slumping of late, finally put together a complete game.
The Pacific Division-leading Avalanche had won just four of their previous 10 games before it used consistent defense, Patrick Roy's goaltending and a clutch goal from Valeri Kamensky to beat the San Jose Sharks 2-0 on Saturday.
Kamensky scored from point-blank range off an assist by Peter Forsberg with 11:21 remaining in the game to break a scoreless tie. Jon Klemm added an empty-net goal with 38 seconds left to complete the scoring.
"We played well today," Colorado coach Marc Crawford said. "We protected the puck; we were great at penalty killing; and we kept our composure. A win like this is good for our confidence."
San Jose entered the game one point behind Edmonton, for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff spot.
"You think we're playing well, but we're not playing well enough to win," the Sharks Tony Granato said. "Moral victories don't count. This is a loss."
"We've played well in the last two games," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said. "We were tied against Dallas in the third period before losing and were 0-0 today in the third period. We've just got to get over the hump."
It took Colorado until midway through the third period to get over the hump Saturday when Kamensky scored. It was his 13th goal in 17 games against San Jose. He has also scored 13 points in his last 11 games this season.
Forsberg has a nine-game scoring streak, and he leads the NHL in assists with 63.
The shutout was the fourth this season for Roy and the 41st of his career. Roy stopped 23 shots, while San Jose goalie Mike Vernon stopped 20 of 21.
San Jose outshot Colorado 16-13 in the first two periods but neither team could penetrate the opposition's defense.
Colorado had a two-man advantage for four and a half minutes of the first period but could not score
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