DENVER -- The Avalanche have to be frustrated.

Colorado was outshot 42-21 in its 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Wednesday, which gave the Red Wings a 2-1 series lead.

The Avs gave no help to their goalie, Patrick Roy, who made 40 saves in his first really good game of the series.

Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic, who scored nine goals in their previous 12 games between them, did not have a single decent shot in regulation (Sakic was credited with a shot late in the third period, but it went wide). Neither did Alex Tanguay.

The Avs spent the majority of the game blocking shots in their defensive zone, warding off one Red Wings' attack after another. They were lucky to make it to overtime.

When compared with powerhouse Detroit, the Avs have depth problems.

With Sakic and Forsberg virtually shut down by Wings' defensemen Chris Chelios and Jiri Fischer, Colorado's third and fourth lines need to step up. Third-liners Mike Keane, Stephane Yelle, and Eric Messier perform their duties perfectly as a checking line, but they don't have the scoring capabilities that the Avs need when their stars don't produce.

Avs coach Bob Hartley has also shortened his bench -- Riku Hahl and Brad Larsen played just seven minutes each in Game 3, and their linemate Dan Hinote registered most of his minutes on the power play and penalty kill.

	“	It's tough to score a goal from our own zone. ”
		— Avs coach Bob Hartley

The Avs can't keep up with Detroit's heavy hitters with only 10 forwards.

Wings coach Scotty Bowman, meanwhile, utilizes his entire bench.

In the first three games of this series, Brendan Shanahan has not scored. Steve Yzerman has not scored. Sergei Fedorov has not scored. But it doesn't matter. With Detroit, if the Wings' future Hall of Famers have a quiet night, somebody else will get the job done.

On Wednesday, it was Fredrik Olausson, who netted the game winner 12 minutes, 44 seconds into OT. Olausson hadn't scored since April 1992. Even the Grind Line of Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty, and Kris Draper racked up its share of points.

Roy must have emerged from the game a bit shell-shocked, and rightfully so. He showed it in the lockerroom, his lips pressed tightly together during this 30-second interview:

Reporter: "When was the last time you stopped 40 shots and lost?"
Roy: "I can't remember."
Reporter: "Are you angry?"
Roy: "No."
Reporter: "Were you screened on the winner?"
Roy: "Yes."
Reporter: "You seem frustrated."
Roy: "Not at all."
Reporter: "You're giving very short answers."
Roy: "Yes, very short. You're welcome."

The Avs have often played with a lead in this series, but they have yet to take a two-goal lead. With a 1-0 lead in the first period Wednesday, the Avs blew a four-minute power play awarded when Tomas Holmstrom took two minor penalties. They then spent the majority of the second period in their own end.

"It's tough to score a goal from our own zone," said Hartley, showing that the goalie wasn't the only one with ruffled feathers.

"They played better than we did, and that's the game," Sakic said. "They were skating, and we were just standing around."

Standing around just won't cut it if the Avs want to head back to Detroit with a split.