The end, as is the working definition of NHL playoff overtime, came with stunning swiftness. This time, too, it involved the tic-tac-toe artistry of Milan Hejduk to Joe Sakic to Peter Forsberg, who had what amounted to a tap-in. The Avalanche came pouring off the bench, celebrating the 2-1 victory and survival in the series. The Sharks hung heads and the Compaq Center fans went into the night to hear that their region truly had been shaken -- by an earthquake, not a home hockey team's defeat.

Yes, virtually everyone in the arena hadn't noticed the tremor that came with nine minutes left in the third period. Only those in the press box -- an architectural afterthought in the rafters -- and the fans in the extreme upper reaches of the arena had felt the swaying. It was only natural to wonder if this had been a serious earthquake, because those of us who had been in Candlestick Park during the 1989 Earthquake remembered that the first impressions that night were that the temblor was more an inconvenience than a disaster.

But the teams played on. The broadcasters and writers in the rafters exhaled in the wake of initial reports that it wasn't a major quake. Most hockey fans on the East Coast slept. Nearly an hour later, the Avalanche got the goal that preserved their hopes of defending their Stanley Cup championship.

Now the Sharks and Avs go to a Game 7 tonight in Denver. They will be finishing a series that hasn't been quite as stunning in its swings as some of the bizarre Eastern Conference blood-lettings, but surprising for its mostly wide-open style. Like the Ottawa-Toronto series, it has settled into an every-other-game rhythm through six games, and if that holds, the Sharks will be resilient enough to knock off the Avalanche tonight and advance against Detroit.

Nothing about this series has been predictable, so we're not going to make any grandiose claims about clairvoyance this time.

But on the surface, the evidence seems to be pointing toward Colorado finally being the first to take advantage of momentum in this series, instead of treating a victory as a drain. A Game 6, series-extending loss at home has a way of turning into a lamented lost opportunity, as was the case with the Devils last season in the Cup finals against the Avalanche. Although the road team has won four of six in the Colorado-San Jose series, doesn't the home ice finally matter more in Game 7, as the Senators were reminded Tuesday? The numbers -- roughly a two-third success rate -- favor the Avalanche.

Most important, perhaps, this is the prideful Patrick Roy's chance to avoid any early exit and a diminishment of his image as the consummate "money" goaltender. After two straight Game 7 losses to the Stars in the Western finals, the Avalanche and Roy have rebounded, beating the Kings twice and the Devils in Game 7s the past two playoff runs.

If Colorado drops this series, though, it perhaps would provide some fodder for those still feeling as if Roy insulted everyone from the Queen Mother to Rocket Richard when he hissed that he had played his last game for the Canadiens.

It would be considered justice by those who all but wanted his citizenship revoked when he withdrew from Canadian Olympic team consideration last November by informing super-patriot Wayne Gretzky, the longtime Californian running the Canadian program.

During this series, the talk started again. It was the sort of discussion he has heard at various times over his 17 seasons. It has ranged from the coherent and the reasonable criticisms generated by the high standards of superstar evaluation, to the mindless and predictable parroting of the it's-gotta-be-the-goalie's-fault oversimplification. Roy had not been the problem. The Avs' team-wide defensive deficiencies had been.

But with his 2.52 goals-against average in the postseason, and his 3.45 figure against the Sharks going into Game 6, Roy hadn't been the antidote, either.

A year ago, when he was targeted as the potential Avalanche weakness early in the postseason, he responded and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP for the third time in his career.

So Monday night, and again tonight, Roy's challenges were and are multitiered. If Colorado emerges from this series, he will have many more chances to show that his "money" reputation isn't a yellowed clipping. He had 22 saves in the Monday night game -- not a heroic total, but he kept the Avs in the game early, especially as the Mike Ricci line controlled and cycled the puck, as Adam Graves got a couple of whacks on the doorstep, and as Teemu Selanne a few more wide-open looks.

In the late stages of regulation and beyond, the Avalanche gambled on loading up their top line, putting Forsberg on the wing with Sakic and Hejduk. Now Bob Hartley has to decide whether to stick with that tonight, or return Forsberg to the Chris Drury-centered line and return Alex Tanguay to the top line. Although Tanguay has continued to struggle, he still skates with that validation of scoring twice in the Cup-clinching Game 7 a year ago.

Also, Hartley has gotten away with mostly using a four-man defensive rotation, and working in Martin Skoula and Bryan Muir only sparingly. Rob Blake and (probably) Adam Foote are playing hurt, and there also is a chance the deeper Sharks could have more petrol tonight -- even after that disappointing Game 6 loss. Plus, there are enough Sharks around who remember that shocking Game 7 upset of the Blues two years ago. Selanne hasn't played all that well, but he also has two goal-scorer's goals in this series, and he's capable of breaking loose tonight. Finally, Nabokov, who had a 65-minute shutout in the Pepsi Center in his first-ever NHL start, even could outplay Roy. You never know about those Kazak goalies.

Bottom line: Tonight is a tossup. The Avs' lack of depth has shown up in this series, even after Forsberg's remarkable and instantly effective return. And the Red Wings are just sitting there, waiting. If Colorado travels to Detroit after playing two straight seven-game series, the Avalanche will regret especially that prolonged Los Angeles series.

Terry Frei of The Denver Post is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.