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DENVER (AP) -- Shjon Podein played the role of unlikely hero in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
|  | | Colorado's Shjon Podein, right, scored two goals in a 10-second span of the third period to boost the Avs. |
Podein scored two third-period goals 10 seconds apart as the
Avalanche extended their unbeaten streak to 11.
"Have I scored twice within 10 seconds before?" Podein asked.
"I'm lucky to score two goals in one game."
Peter Forsberg and Chris Drury each had a goal and an assist,
and Patrick Roy stopped 25 shots for Colorado (9-0-2), which has won nine straight.
"Those were two great goals for a guy that works hard," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "It was a great effort, and those two goals gave us back the momentum we had lost."
Podein broke a 2-2 tie at 12:35 of the third period, when he
took Dave Reid's pass from behind the net and put it past Tommy
Salo. Just 10 seconds later, Podein took Reid's pass off the
faceoff and sent a low drive into the net as the Avalanche moved
within one win or tie from tying the franchise mark for consecutive
unbeaten games.
"I don't see this as a great achievement," Podein said. "I yelled for the puck on the first goal, and Reid gave me the puck."
Ryan Smyth and Todd Marchant had third-period goals for
Edmonton, which is 0-4-1 in its last five. Salo made 25 saves, but dropped to 3-9-1 lifetime against Colorado.
"Podein is effective in a checking role because he has an offensive element to his game," said Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish, who played two years with Podein with the Philadelphia Flyers. "He's a big-goal scorer. It was unfortunate for us, but he is that type of player."
The Avalanche led 2-0 after one period on goals by Drury and
Forsberg. Drury stationed himself in front of the crease with 2:29
left, took a pass along the boards from Forsberg and sent a shot
past Salo's stick for his fifth goal of the season.
Forsberg capitalized on a turnover by Bill Guerin deep in the Oilers zone. Forsberg picked up the loose puck, skated across the front of crease and sent a backhander past Salo at 8:41.
Forsberg has 16 goals and 28 assists in 27 career games against
the Oilers.
Edmonton caught a break at the start of the third period to make
it 2-1. With the man advantage, Smyth sent a shot from the slot at
1:41 of the period that Martin Skoula redirected into his own net.
Marchant tied it at 4:16 when he stormed into the Colorado zone and sent a shot through the legs of Avalanche defenseman Aaron Miller and past Roy.
"We are at a confidence level where it doesn't matter if we are up or if we let a lead slip away," Podein said. "We know that we can win."
Game notes
Edmonton is 1-0-1 on the second night of back-to-back
games. ... The Oilers have killed nine of 10 power plays in their
last two games. ... The Avalanche extended their working agreement
with AHL affiliate Hershey for four years through the 2004-2005
season. ... Colorado had its streak of at least one power-play goal
in consecutive games stopped at eight. ... Forsberg has an
eight-game point streak, and has goals in six of his last seven
games. ... Jon Klemm has the franchise record for fastest goals,
scoring nine seconds apart on Oct. 17, 1997, against Calgary. ...
Hartley and MacTavish exchanged words late in the game after
Hartley called a timeout with the Avalanche on a 5-on-3 power play.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Edmonton Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 2
Boston 1
NY Islanders 2
Montreal 1
Detroit 4
Columbus 1
Florida 3
Ottawa 1
New Jersey 9
Pittsburgh 0
Buffalo 3
Chicago 1
St. Louis 4
Dallas 3
Colorado 4
Edmonton 2
Phoenix 3
Los Angeles 1
Atlanta 2
San Jose 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Peter Forsberg steals the puck and scores.
avi: 629 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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