Roy Has Edmonton’s Number, Another 0

Around the NHL

Patrick Roy made 19 of his 34 saves in the first period Sunday night as the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-0.

Roy, first among active goaltenders with 38 shutouts over his 12-year career, has won 17 of 24 games against the Oilers. Three have been by shutouts.

Peter Forsberg’s first-period goal was the winner for Colorado. Claude Lemieux scored Colorado’s other two goals.

Edmonton had four power plays in the first period, but Roy, a seven-time all-star goaltender, blocked everything. His best stop came during a 30-second, two-man advantage. Todd Marchant found the puck just outside the Avalanche crease only to be robbed by Roy’s lunging kick save.

Marchant was foiled again in the third when he hit Roy square in the chest after getting loose on a 2-on-1 break with Mike Grier.

Other games

On a night when the four games produced only 12 goals, host Tampa Bay’s Daren Puppa and Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek put on goaltending clinics as the teams tied 1-1.

Puppa, who stopped Randy Burridge from just outside the crease in the final minute of overtime, stopped 36 Buffalo shots. Hasek made 30 saves.

A scoreless third period featured numerous scoring chances. Hasek stopped Rob Zamuner’s shorthanded breakaway and also rejected Dino Ciccarelli’s blast from the high slot.

Puppa matched Hasek, stopping Brian Holzinger twice from in-close and then withstanding a final minute barrage that included point-blank chances by Matthew Barnaby and Derek Plante.

Kevin Stevens scored with 9 seconds left in regulation to give the Rangers a 2-2 tie with the Kings.

Seconds before, the Rangers had the apparent tying goal by Marc Savard disallowed when a video replay showed that Pat LaFontaine, who was playing his 800th NHL game, had his skate in the crease.

Donald MacLean’s first NHL goal had put Los Angeles ahead 2-1.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead 3:48 into the game on a goal by Niklas Sundstrom off a beautiful feed from Wayne Gretzky.

Craig Johnson tied the score at 9:28 of the first when he beat Richter with a short rebound shot.

Players uninsured

The July 13 accident involving Red Wings star Vladimir Konstantinov highlights the need for hockey players to carry disability insurance covering off-ice injuries. Konstantinov did not have such insurance.

“This should be a wake-up call to every athlete that you need to have disability insurance, at least in an amount equal to the balance of your contract,” said lawyer Scott Lites, who represents Detroit’s Vyacheslav Kozlov.

The NHL Players Association estimates more than 100 of the 650 players in the league lack off-ice disability insurance.

Every year, the NHL union says, one or two players sustain career-ending injuries and do not have disability insurance.

Konstantinov, 30, could have earned an estimated $15 million to $20 million by the end of his career. He has two years worth about $3 million left on his existing contract.

The team has no legal obligation to cover the balance of the contract because the injury happened off the ice. After the $3 million, Konstantinov’s hockey wages are finished if he can’t come back.

Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov remain in good condition at a hospital near Detroit.

Basil McRae, a former NHL player, works for Equis Financial in St. Louis, which sells disability insurance.

He said a 20-year-old player would pay $5,000 a year for $1 million coverage and a 34-year-old $15,000 for the same coverage.

“It amazes me how many guys don’t want to pay the premiums,” he said.