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AVALANCHE leads series 3 - 2 after second OT win in detroit!
Red Wings one loss from elimination
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DETROIT (AP) -- Peter Forsberg once again showed why he may be the best hockey player in the world.
The native of Sweden scored 6:24 into overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 2-1 victory over Detroit on Monday night and a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Forsberg, who also had an assist, is the leading scorer in the playoffs with 27 points despite missing the regular season after having four foot surgeries and his spleen removed in the past year.
"It's just unbelievable," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "Even after missing the whole year, he continues to rise up to challenges and pressure. He's the full package as a player."
Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said the officials missed an offsides call on the winning goal, which was scored on a breakaway as the Red Wings got caught on a line change.
"It was a quick play, a hard call," Bowman said. "You're not going to cry over a call like that."
Forsberg said he didn't know if teammate Brian Willsie was offsides, but he did know that he didn't expect to have so much room on the play that turned into his third career overtime playoff goal.
"You don't usually get breakaways in OT," said Forsberg, who has nine goals and 18 assists in the playoffs. "I was a little nervous, but I got it done."
The defending Stanley Cup champions can eliminate the Red Wings and move a step closer to repeating with a win in Game 6 Wednesday night at home.
"We have to play smarter," said Detroit's Steve Yzerman, who tied the game early in the third period. "We have to play our positions. We can't go running all over the ice."
Colorado and Detroit played their third overtime game of the series -- the sixth in their postseason rivalry since 1996 -- and the road team won for the sixth time.
"It must just be coincidence," Colorado's Joe Sakic said.
Colorado, which was outshot 4-1 in the overtime, became the first team in the series to win consecutive games.
Steven Reinprecht gave Colorado a 1-0 lead -- its fifth in five games -- early in the first period.
The Avalanche's ninth one-goal lead in the series was negated for the eighth time when Yzerman scored in the first minute of the third period.
Then not much happened until Colorado was penalized for having too many men on the ice, which gave the Red Wings a power play with 6:54 left. Patrick Roy made a few saves to ruin Detroit's hopes for a go-ahead goal.
Like Dominik Hasek earlier in the game, Roy got some help from the metal behind him.
With about 100 seconds left in regulation, Detroit's Brendan Shanahan made a move to fool a defenseman and Roy, but his shot from just inside the right circle clanged off the post.
"I'll have a nightmare about that one," Shanahan said.
Hasek stopped Forsberg's shot with about 10 seconds left, which ensured there would be a third overtime in four games.
Roy made 26 saves and Hasek turned away 27 shots.
Like a heavyweight fight, both teams were more cautious than aggressive for the first few minutes of the game.
Detroit got the first shot off 6:37 into the game, then within the next 10 seconds the Avalanche tested Hasek with two shots.
Colorado scored first, again.
Forsberg carried the puck along the left boards, spun around, then fed a short pass to Reinprecht, who scored on a wraparound goal just past defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom at 17:11 of the first period.
Reinprecht scored two winning goals in the first round against Los Angeles. Forsberg's 84th career playoff assist moved him past Sakic in Avalanche history.
It took a few seconds for Yzerman's goal -- Detroit's first on the power play since Game 2 -- to be ruled a goal 54 seconds into the third period.
Yzerman held the puck in the left corner, then skated toward Roy and flipped a shot that somehow squeezed between his right knee and the post. After Yzerman pointed toward the back of the net, a referee signaled it was a goal.
It was Yzerman's 67th career playoff goal, tying him with Gordie Howe for the most in Detroit history.
Game notes
The Avalanche scratched left wings Mike Keane and Alex Tanguay from their lineup before the game. Keane missed a second straight game with a rib injury while Tanguay missed his first game of the playoffs with a leg injury. ... Detroit and Colorado played one overtime game in the 1996, 1999 and 2000 playoffs. ... If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Friday night in Detroit.
==> The COLORADO AVALANCHE Hockey Club <==
_______Stanley Cup Champions 1996 & 2001_________
www.coloradoavalanche.com
Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club
Pepsi Center
1000 Chopper Circle
Denver, CO 80204
303/405-1100
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