Avs triumph in OT
Jose Theodore played only five games for Colorado in the regular season. Now, after five postseason games he’s already won over his new teammates.
Theodore stopped 11 shots in overtime before Andrew Brunette scooped a rebound over sprawling goaltender Marty Turco to give Colorado a 3-2 victory over the host Dallas Stars – and wrap up the first-round series in five games for the seventh-seeded Avalanche.
“He’s the reason we’re standing here with smiles on our face, really. He was unbelievable today,” said Colorado captain Joe Sakic, who scored his 81st career playoff goal and had the shot that led to the winner. “I mean, they could’ve ended it so many times – not only in overtime, but in the third. He kept us in and gave us a chance.”
The Stars outshot Colorado 11-4 in the extra period, including seven shots during the frame’s only power play. But Dallas couldn’t solve Theodore.
Two days after the Stars avoided a sweep with a 4-1 victory, Theodore stopped 50 shots to end the series.
After the game ended, Turco stood motionless in his net for several minutes, staring down at the ice. He stopped 27 shots, including Sakic’s before Brunette got the rebound, but lost a series in five games to Colorado in his second straight postseason.
Sabres 3, Flyers 0: At Buffalo, N.Y., rookie goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 24 shots to record his first playoff shutout, and Tim Connolly and J.P. Dumont scored power-play goals and had an assist each in Buffalo’s win.
Maxim Afinogenov also scored, helping the Sabres bounce back from two road losses and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
Game 6 is Tuesday at Philadelphia in a series in which the home team has won every game.
Hurricanes 2, Canadiens 1: At Raleigh, N.C., rookie goalie Cam Ward stopped 30 shots to win his third straight start, and Eric Staal and Matt Cullen had power-play goals to help Carolina take a 3-2 lead in its series with Montreal.
In each of the first four games, the visiting team came out on top, with three going beyond regulation. Carolina became the first host to take a two-goal lead before the Canadiens rallied, and now the teams head back to Montreal for Game 6.
Staal had the first goal, taking a backhand pass from Cory Stillman and sending a slap shot from the point past Cristobal Huet.
Cullen made it 2-0 in the second period when Montreal again was short-handed, after defenseman Andrei Markov sent the puck in the crowd. Another shot from the top got through Huet, with Cullen using a screen from Stillman for his third goal of the series.
Sharks 2, Predators 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Patrick Marleau and San Jose made quick work of Nashville to reach the Western Conference semifinals for the second straight season.
Marleau and Steve Bernier each scored power-play goals, and the Sharks eliminated the Predators from the playoffs with a victory in Game 5.
Nashville had been hoping to tap what had been the NHL’s best home-ice advantage in the regular season to force Game 6 on Tuesday night in San Jose. But the Predators couldn’t sell out the arena, and their best wasn’t enough on a night when Marleau – San Jose’s captain – scored his postseason-best seventh goal.