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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Patrick Roy wasted no time to make history.
He just needed a few extra minutes.
|  | | Patrick Roy had reason to jump for joy after making history Tuesday night. |
The Colorado goalie set an NHL record with his 448th career
victory, passing Terry Sawchuk, as the Avalanche topped the
Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday night on Peter Forsberg's goal at
2:27 of overtime.
In his first attempt, Roy snapped a tie with Sawchuk, who held
the mark -- once considered unbreakable -- since 1970. Sawchuk earned
his 447th victory in his 968th game while Roy won No. 448 in his
847th game.
"I was honest when I said I wanted to enjoy it and didn't feel
any pressure," Roy said. "To be honest with you, I was hoping
that we would win this game. I had a lot of friends here, so I was
hoping to win it as soon as possible."
The 35-year-old goalie tied Sawchuk's mark last Saturday with a
victory over expansion Columbus.
Roy raced out of the net immediately after the winning goal and
jumped up and down several times while waving his arms in joy. He
was mobbed by his teammates at the blue line in front of the
Colorado bench. Teammates hugged and congratulated him, and some
even carried Roy around the ice.
There also was a postgame ceremony where Roy helped cut the net
away from the last goal he defended. The net will be taken to the
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
"It's definitely a great night for hockey," Colorado coach Bob
Hartley said. "We couldn't write a better script than we did
tonight. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going for the
win in overtime. That was the greatest setup we could imagine, and
we had to make sure Patrick would get the credit."
Roy has won the Vezina Trophy three times and been a member of
three Stanley Cup champions. His 14 seasons of winning at least 20
games is a record.
Roy stretched his unbeaten streak to 11 games (9-0-2) and
finished with 27 saves, repeatedly robbing the Capitals from in
close. He made his biggest save with four seconds left, stopping
Jan Bulis' shot from right in front -- admitting later that he never
saw it.
Washington played poorly on offense in its first five games, but
the Capitals pressured Roy throughout and nearly made him wait for
another night.
"We worked hard and we did the little things right, and we have
to keep doing what we did," said Peter Bondra, who scored twice.
"We definitely didn't play to be a part of the ceremony tonight,
but it happens and congratulations to Patrick."
Also at the ceremony was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who came
onto the ice with Roy.
"Patrick Roy's passion to play is surpassed only by his passion
to win," Bettman said. "The remarkable achievement is a testimony
to his consistency, his durability, his pride, his skill and,
perhaps most of all, his nightly determination to meet the highest
standards of goaltending excellence -- his own."
The ceremony began after Forsberg redirected Ray Bourque's slap
shot past Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig. Standing just in front of
the right post, Forsberg pushed the puck into the net, starting the
wild celebration.
"He is just unbelievable," Forsberg said. "Every night he
gets everything in net, and I think that's why he got this
record."
Richard Zednik's five-minute penalty for cross-checking, early
in overtime, gave Colorado (4-0-2) a three-minute power-play that
set up the winning goal. Avalanche forward Adam Foote took a
two-minute elbowing penalty at the same time and Colorado scored
just 56 seconds later.
The Capitals were one of only five teams against which Roy had a
record of .500 or less. He was 10-10-2 against Washington entering
the game.
The loss gave the Capitals (0-4-2) their worst start since
1993-94. Washington lost its first six games that year before
rebounding to win nine of 10.
Colorado gave Roy an early cushion when Alex Tanguay fired a
slap shot past Kolzig on the Avalanche's first shot just 1:11 in.
Roy made 10 saves in the first period, and the Avalanche made it
2-0 when Milan Hejduk flipped a backhand rebound over Kolzig with
3:28 left. Washington sliced the lead to 2-1 when Ulf Dahlen poked
a loose puck past Roy from in front.
Peter Bondra tied it with 3:52 left in the second period. Steve
Konowalchuk broke up a Colorado clear, and Bondra pounced on the
loose puck and fired it past Roy.
Bondra then scored 25 seconds into the third period, breaking in
alone on a power play and sliding a shot just inside the left post
-- giving the Capitals their first lead of the season.
But Colorado's Joe Sakic forced overtime with a power-play goal
3:02 later. Both teams had several scoring chances in the final
minutes of regulation but couldn't convert.
It was the first time this season Roy allowed as many as three
goals in a game, but he was smiling at the end.
"I was just dreaming of playing in the NHL," Roy said. "When
you are in the NHL, you just try to survive in that league. It's
been a great ride."
Game notes
Washington defenseman Brendan Witt injured his arm in the
first period and didn't return after playing only two shifts. ...
The game was briefly delayed 20 seconds into the third period when
the goal light behind Roy went on and couldn't be turned off. ...
The Avalanche have the NHL's top road record since 1995-95 at
107-72-27. ... Hejduk has played in 170 straight games while
teammate Chris Drury stretched his streak to 159 games. ... The
Capitals hadn't had a lead for the first 350:25 of the season.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 6
Philadelphia 1
Colorado 4
Washington 3
New Jersey 3
Atlanta 3
Detroit 2
St. Louis 1
Montreal 4
Buffalo 3
Anaheim 4
NY Islanders 3
Los Angeles 1
Nashville 1
Edmonton 6
Boston 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Patrick Roy gets his 448th win as Peter Forsberg scores in OT.
avi: 1487 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Patrick Roy talks about his record-setting night in Washington.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Patrick Roy talks with ESPN's Al Morganti after the victory.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Patrick Roy denies Joe Reekie in the first period.
avi: 898 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alex Tanguay starts the game with a goal in the first two minutes.
avi: 989 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ulf Dahlen gets the puck in front of the net and knocks it past Patrick Roy.
avi: 1207 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Peter Bondra scores his first goal of the game.
avi: 1289 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Patrick Roy came into the NHL just hoping to survive.
wav: 281 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement discuss the importance of Patrick Roy's record-breaking performance.
wav: 832 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Adam Deadmarsh is honored to be a part of Patrick Roy's history.
wav: 86 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ray Bourque is happy to get Patrick Roy's record in the books.
wav: 156 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Peter Forsberg says the Avs count on Patrick Roy every night.
wav: 116 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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