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BOX SCORE
DALLAS (AP) -- Milan Hejduk won the game and then went for a
swim.
Hejduk's goal with 1:43 left in overtime lifted Colorado to a
2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday, stretching the
Avalanche's unbeaten string to seven games.
|  | | Milan Hejduk performs a bellyflop after his game-winner. |
Hejduk skated up the right side, faked Dallas defenseman Darryl
Sydor out of position, waited and lifted a wrist shot from the slot
over Ed Belfour's glove that glanced off the crossbar for his 32nd
goal.
After the goal, an ecstatic Hejduk celebrated with a headlong
belly flop on the ice that included some swim strokes.
"I was so happy, I didn't really know what I was doing,"
Hejduk said. "I was out of my mind. It was an important point for
us, just what we needed right now."
Hejduk skated 2-on-1 with Jon Klemm, and when Sydor went down to
try and block a shot or pass, Hejduk had an open lane to the net.
"He made a nice move and outwaited me," Belfour said. "It was
a nice shot but I'd like to have it over again."
Joe Sakic scored a second-period goal for the Avalanche, who
have won six times in seven games (6-0-1).
Sakic has 16 goals and seven assists in his last 12 games to
help the first-place Avalanche to a four-point lead over Edmonton
in the Northwest Division.
There was a playoff atmosphere at Reunion Arena as the teams
that competed in last year's Western Conference finals try to win
division titles. Dallas won the series in seven games en route to
the Stanley Cup title.
"It's always a low-scoring game with Dallas," Sakic said.
"Both goalies played well and it had a playoff feel. The two
points were big for us because we're in such a logjam (for
conference playoff seeding)."
Mike Modano also continued his scoring surge with a first-period
goal for the Stars, who had their unbeaten streak stopped at six
games. Dallas has a 11-point lead over Los Angeles atop the Pacific
Division.
Modano has 20 goals and 22 assists in his last 29 games. He
scored his 36th goal at 6:02 of the first, ripping a one-timer from
the right circle into the upper right corner. Dallas held a 14-11
shots advantage in the opening period.
Sakic countered with his 27th goal at 11:02 of the second,
flipping a rebound past Belfour while Colorado was on a power play.
The Stars thought they had a second-period goal from Brett Hull
at 10:28, but it was disallowed because of interference by Kirk
Muller on Colorado goalie Patrick Roy.
"It was a tough call," Muller said. "I was trying to go to
the net and went for the opening. Patrick turned and bumped into
me. You have to avoid the goalie so I guess it was the right
call."
Hull has 608 career goals, two behind his father, Bobby.
Roy had 28 saves. Belfour stopped 22 shots.
"I felt real sharp," Roy said following his 440th career
victory. "Both teams had a lot of scoring chances. When we play
them, it means a little extra for us."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
RECAPS
St. Louis 1
Chicago 1
Colorado 2
Dallas 1
Detroit 8
NY Rangers 2
Philadelphia 3
Pittsburgh 1
Carolina 4
NY Islanders 1
Montreal 3
Tampa Bay 1
Los Angeles 4
Atlanta 1
Anaheim 4
Phoenix 3
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