Avs even series with Red Wings

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Posted 8:56AM on Sunday, May 26, 2002

DENVER - The Colorado Avalanche finally held a lead. Patrick Roy stopped 31 shots and Chris Drury scored late in the third period as the Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Saturday to even the Western Conference finals at two games apiece. The Avalanche had squandered seven one-goal leads before Drury put them up two with 3:17 left. The only other time Colorado held a lead in the series was Game 2, when Drury scored in overtime. Drury scored his fifth of the playoffs by one-timing a pass from Peter Forsberg over Dominik Hasek's glove side. The goal proved vital, as Brett Hull made it 3-2 with 2.7 seconds left on a wrister from just outside the crease. Colorado won the ensuing faceoff and Detroit wasn't able to get off a shot. Joe Sakic, who had just two shots in Game 3, put Colorado up 2-1 45 seconds into the third period, beating Hasek stickside with a wrister from the slot. Greg de Vries set up the goal, stealing a pass from Chris Chelios near the center line. It was Sakic's ninth goal of the playoffs. The Avalanche vowed to play better defense in front of Roy after he faced 42 shots in Game 3, a 2-1 loss in overtime, but that wasn't the case early. The Red Wings peppered Roy with 16 shots in the first period, including several from close range. But just like in Game 3, when he stopped 40 shots, Roy kept the Avalanche in it. He stopped Boyd Devereaux on a one-timer from just outside the crease early in the first, then a hard shot from the right circle by Hull 30 seconds later. Roy also made a sliding stop with his chest on a shot by Tomas Holstrom on a Detroit power play in the second, and had a kick save on a shot by Hull from the slot on a power play with four minutes left in the game. It was the 237th career playoff game for Roy, moving him past Mark Messier for most in NHL history. Colorado's Steven Reinprecht opened the scoring 7:50 into the game after Detroit's Sergei Fedorov broke his stick and couldn't stop Rob Blake. Fedorov tried to slow Blake after a puck caromed out of the corner, but couldn't do much without his stick. Blake fanned on a shot from the slot, but Reinprecht gathered the loose puck and lifted a backhander over Hasek. It was Reinprecht's sixth goal of the playoffs and his first since Game 6 against San Jose in the conference quarterfinals. But just as in the first three games, Colorado couldn't hold the lead. Fedorov tied it 6:20 into the second after stealing a pass from Peter Forsberg on a Colorado power play. Forsberg tried to flip a pass near the Red Wings blue line, but it hit Fedorov in the chest. Fedorov made a couple of fakes on the breakaway before slipping a backhander between Roy's pads. It was Detroit's sixth short-handed goal of the playoffs and Fedorov's first goal since Game 5 against Vancouver in the first round. Hasek wasn't tested much early, but faced a flurry of shots on a Colorado power play early in the third period. He made two sprawling saves early, then stopped consecutive shots by Drury from close range in a span of 15 seconds. He stopped five shots during the power play. Game 5 is Monday night in Detroit. Notes: Colorado LW Mike Keane did not play because of a rib injury. He has one goal and four assists in 17 playoff games. ... Detroit C Igor Larionov returned after missing five games with a sprained right knee. ... The Stanley Cup is in Denver this weekend. ... Colorado is 7-1 following a loss in the playoffs this year, 12-3 since last year.