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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DENVER (AP) -- In the spirit of election season, Phoenix forward
Jeremy Roenick campaigned for teammate Sean Burke.
"If he's not player of the month for October, then they should
totally end player of the month awards because he has been
phenomenal," Roenick said. "He's the reason why we're in this
situation."
|  | | Coyotes center Travis Green celebrates his third-period goal as a defeated Avs center Joe Sakic looks away. |
The endorsement was well-deserved after Burke made 45 saves for
his 23rd career shutout as the Coyotes handed the Colorado
Avalanche their first loss of the season, 4-0 Monday night.
Roenick added a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who ran
their unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2). Colorado (9-1-2), off
to the best start in franchise history, had won nine straight.
"We don't talk about streaks," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley
said. "If you get rewarded, you turn the page and move on to the
next game. If you lose, you turn the page and move on."
The battle of the NHL's two hottest teams turned into a
landslide as Phoenix scored four goals on just 16 shots.
Burke (7-1-1), who has faced at least 30 shots in six of his
nine starts, did the rest. He gave Colorado few second chances and
became the first goalie to blank the Avs since Buffalo's Dominik
Hasek on Feb. 8, a span of 38 games.
"He's been unbelievable for us all year," Phoenix captain
Keith Tkachuk said. "For him to come out and make those big saves,
he's our best player right now. To get to that next level, you need
great goaltending and we're getting more than that."
Behind goals from Roenick and Mika Alatalo, the Coyotes took a
2-0 lead into the third and put the game out of reach when Travis
Green and Landon Wilson each scored in the final eight minutes.
Patrick Roy, who lost for the first time in 10 games, had
allowed just 14 goals entering the night but managed only 12 saves.
His goals-against average jumped from 1.51 to 1.76.
"I thought overall our defense played pretty good and when we
did make a mistake it was in our net," Colorado defenseman Adam
Foote said. "When we had the roll, we had some luck. Tonight there
was no luck there."
Despite being outshot 29-8 in the first 40 minutes, the Coyotes
took a two-goal lead when Roenick dashed past two defenders and
beat Roy to the glove side at 16:27 of the second.
Earlier in the period, Burke single-handedly stymied the
Avalanche, stopping three tough shots in a 20-second span. The best
save came when he dove to his right and used his stick to deny Joe
Sakic just outside the crease.
"The key is to get them a little frustrated and I think we did
that," Burke said. "I feel if they are going to beat me, beat me
with a good shot. I was square and they just weren't making the
shots."
The Avalanche, who eliminated Phoenix in the first round of last
year's playoffs, outshot the Coyotes 14-5 in the opening period but
trailed 1-0.
Roenick set up Phoenix's goal when he stole the puck from Foote
in the Colorado zone and hit Tkachuk for a two-man break. Tkachuk
flipped a short pass to Alatalo, who beat Roy over the left
shoulder at 1:04.
Game notes
Roenick leads the NHL in scoring with eight goals and 10
assists. ... Colorado fell short of its franchise-best unbeaten
streak of 12 games. The 1998-99 team won 12 straight, and the
Avalanche went 9-0-3 during a stretch of the 1996-97 season. ...
Colorado lost for the first time in 20 regular-season games
(17-1-2) dating to last season. ... Coyotes defenseman Jyrki Lumme
played in his 800th NHL game.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Colorado Clubhouse
Roy appears in court after arrest on domestic charges
Bourque prepares for life after hockey, teams with retailer
RECAPS
New Jersey 6
Florida 5
Phoenix 4
Colorado 0
Edmonton 5
Anaheim 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Sean Burke makes a spectacular stick save against Colorado's Joe Sakic.
avi: 936 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jeremy Roenick takes a pass from Keith Tkachuk and beats Patrick Roy for a short-handed goal.
avi: 585 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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