Saturday, June 9 Updated: June 11, 3:27 PM ET Avalanche had real A-line By Brian A. Shactman ESPN.com DENVER -- Will the real A-line please step up? Actually, in the Stanley Cup finals -- most notebly during Game 7 -- the NHL's true A-line stepped up in a big way. The "A" stood for "Avalanche" and not Jason Arnott, the center of New Jersey's nicknamed A-line, which includes Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias. Colorado's trio of Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay and Milan Hejduk earned much higher marks for scoring -- and winning -- in the dramatic seven-game series, won by Colorado with its 3-1 victory Saturday. In the decisive win, the line produced all three Avalanche goals, and Tanguay played his best game of the postseason, scoring twice and adding an assist. "Tonight, he was probably our best player out there," Avs coach Bob Hartley said. Entering the finals, Tanguay had been struggling offensively -- at least in terms of scoring -- and had just two goals in 16 postseason games. However, Tanguay came alive in the finals, scoring four goals and adding three assists. And don't forget, he's only 21. "This Stanley Cup run was a great lesson for him because he learned that it's not always going your way," Hartley said. "And when it is not going your way, you have to change a couple of things -- adjust a little part of your game, and you can turn it around. "And Alex did." Scoring all three goals in Game 7 and winning the Cup tend to make things seem rosier for the Avs and their top line. However, outside of two games when Devils center Bobby Holik replaced Arnott on the Devils' top line and seemed to know how to contain Sakic, the Avs' A-line produced far more than New Jersey's. When Arnott left Game 4 after one period with concussion-like symptoms after taking a puck to the temple, New Jersey dominated Colorado and won Games 4 and 5. In the two games, Sakic had just one assist and the line combined for only three points. And in fact, Tanguay's goal, assisted by Sakic, came on a power play. Things became desperate for Colorado, and Hartley broke up the Avs' top line and fiddled with the others. But in Game 7, he reunited Sakic with Hejduk and Tanguay. And while going with what got him to Game 7 worked for Hartley, it didn't for Devils coach Larry Robinson. Arnott returned for Game 6, and although Robinson used Holik at times with Elias and Sykora, for the most part Robinson put his A-line back together. In Games 6 and 7, Arnott's line scored one goal. It was New Jersey's only goal in those games, and even though the decision to use Arnott on the line instead of Holik didn't directly lead to the Games 6 and 7 losses, the Devils didn't play as well after Arnott's return. Afterward, Robinson had nothing but praise for Sykora and Elias. "I thought the two kids played tremendous," he said. "Both Elias and Sykora, they did a masterful job." Elias (2-3-5) and Sykora (2-2-4) produced more than Arnott (1-1-2), but in the end Colorado's A-line combined for eight goals and 19 points, eight more than Arnott's line. Winning the Stanley Cup, however, was the ultimate goal, so goals and assists didn't matter much. "Scoring was great," Tanguay said, "but winning as a team was better." If the Devils won Game 7, there's little doubt that Robinson, Arnott, Elias or Sykora would have said the same thing. Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories