Avs hope history proves helpful
Associated Press
DENVER -- Trailing the Dallas Stars 3-2 and facing
elimination in the Western Conference finals, the Colorado
Avalanche can at least take some solace in history.
A year ago, Dallas trailed Colorado 3-2 and rallied to win the
series en route to its first Stanley Cup.
"Oh, it can be done," Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said
Wednesday as Colorado practiced in preparation for Game 6 at the
Pepsi Center on Thursday night.
|  | | Ed Belfour has been the key player for Dallas. The Avs have outshot the Stars consistently, but haven't solved Belfour. |
"You know what happened last year," Colorado forward Peter
Forsberg said. "We were up 3-2 last year and we lost the series.
This year they're up 3-2, and hopefully it's going to go the same
way. That's what we have to believe."
Colorado coach Bob Hartley said the deficit gives his team "an
opportunity to find out how Dallas was feeling last year. We're in
the same situation, and it's up to us to face the challenge. We can
win two games in a row. But right now our focus is on Game 6.
That's the game we have to win. Then we'll start preparing for Game
7."
Colorado insists it is playing well, and its significant
advantage in shots the last two games would support that. The
Avalanche outshot the Stars 39-15 in Game 4, then outshot the Stars
31-20 in Game 5. But Colorado lost both, by scores of 4-1 in
regulation and 3-2 in overtime.
Over the last three games, in fact, Colorado has outshot Dallas
110-56 but has been outscored 7-5.
"We're getting lots of chances," Avs forward Adam Deadmarsh
said. "The puck just isn't going in for us. We're shooting from a
lot of different areas, and (Dallas goalie Ed) Belfour is coming up
with some big saves."
Frustration may be setting in, but the Avs insisted they remain
a positive team.
"We have some veteran leadership in this room that can control
that," forward Dave Andreychuk said. "If we stick to our game
plan no matter what happens in the game and stay focused, we're
going to be able to win.
"The attitude we had today -- you could just sense it in the
players, that if we keep playing the way we're playing, we're going
to win a game."
Sakic suggested the way to crack Belfour is to "keep getting
shots and try to get a few more screens."
Forsberg said the Avs must "get more traffic in front of
Belfour, create more confusion in front of him."
Belfour has shown no signs of cracking, however.
Joe Nieuwendyk, who scored the game-winner on a deflection 12:10
into overtime Tuesday night, said Belfour "seems to get better as
the playoffs go on. When he goes against someone like Patrick Roy,
that seems to fire him up. He's been great, and we've needed him to
be because they've had a lot of quality chances."
Belfour has made 105 saves in three games.
"He has to be the difference for us if we expect to beat
Colorado," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said.
Belfour cautioned that the series "is not over yet. We still
have to win another game, and it's going to take a lot of work."
Nieuwendyk, quiet early in this series, has come alive, as has Brett Hull, who has three goals and two assists the last two games.
"Brett Hull is on fire," Hartley said. "He's firing cannon
balls."
But Hartley also has been pleased with the revival of Sakic, who
had five shots Tuesday night, including a rebound in overtime that
Belfour somehow managed to smother.
"We need one goal from Joe and I think we could be on our
way," Hartley said. "I like the way his game is picking up. He's
generating chances. He's skating well, It's just a matter of
getting rewarded."
Sakic, MVP of the playoffs during Colorado's Stanley Cup-winning
season in 1996, has had only one goal in the last 12 games.
The Avalanche are 7-1 at home in the playoffs. That one loss,
however, came last Sunday, when the Stars scored four times in
their first 11 shots.
"We've got to play our best game of the whole playoffs,"
Forsberg said of Game 6.
"It's going to take even more to win the next game because
Colorado is not going to go away easily," Hitchcock said. "We've
got to have our best game of the season in Game 6." |
