Technically, the Avalanche didn’t move up in the standings Saturday, despite beating Dallas 3-1 to run its winning streak to six games.
But that’s getting picky.
After Andrew Brunette had a goal and an assist, Peter Forsberg pitched in with his first points of the season on a pair of assists, and Jose Theodore had 25 saves in a victory over the Stars at the Pepsi Center, Colorado was part of a three-team logjam at the top of the Northwest Division.
All three teams had 80 points, but Calgary remained the division leader because it has played fewer games, and Minnesota was second because of its 3-2 advantage in the season series with the Avalanche. That left the Avs still in the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference, but with a chance to take over the division lead and the conference’s No. 3 slot tonight in Dallas.
A little over two weeks ago, the Avs were mired in a five-game winless streak and in danger of falling out of playoff contention altogether.
Now they’re on a roll.
Against the Stars on Saturday, the Avs won for the sixth time this season after trailing following two periods, with defenseman Scott Hannan tying it up against Stars goalie Marty Turco at 7:30 of the third period. Brunette got the game-winner on a tip of a Forsberg pass at 10:12, and Paul Stastny added an empty-netter with three seconds left.
On the tying goal, Forsberg and Brunette generated the chance with crisp passing back and forth. “I jumped into the play and ‘Fors’ was holding the puck,” Hannan said. “I knew he had full control and kind of crept in behind them. He made a great play to Andrew, and I just faced the net. I thought he was going to throw it on net, but it ended up kind of passing one into me, so I just turned around and shot it.”
Brunette said he just managed “to get my stick” on Forsberg’s pass to get the winning goal, on a power play after Antti Miettinen — who had the Stars’ only goal — went off for hooking.
“It was not rocket science,” Brunette said with a smile.
With the Avs struggling to get the puck past Turco and having scored only three times in the previous two victories, Colorado coach Joel Quenneville broke up the Forsberg-Joe Sakic-Milan Hejduk line at even strength in the second period.
Forsberg’s points were his first in the NHL in 11 months — or since he was with Nashville and the Predators knocked the Avs out of the playoff race in Denver on April 7. He had 19:27 of ice time Saturday, and that followed logging 19:57 and 21:51 in his first two games since his return. He said he didn’t envision any problems coming back and playing in the second half of the back-to-back tonight.
“Just getting used to the tempo and stuff, it’s getting better and better,” Forsberg said. “It was tough not getting any points in the first couple of games, but I stopped thinking about that. I’m hoping I can be better, and we’ll see how it feels (today). I’m a little sore.” He laughed and added, “I’ve had a lot of minutes lately.”
Avs Recap
Three stars
1. Andrew Brunette.
Veteran winger had a goal and an assist.
2. Peter Forsberg.
His two assists were his first points in his second Avs tour of duty.
3. Jose Theodore.
Had 25 saves to keep the Avs in the game.
What you might have missed
Saturday was the fourth anniversary of Todd Bertuzzi’s attack on Steve Moore in Vancouver. Moore’s lawsuit against Bertuzzi and the Canucks is still pending in Ontario.
Up next
At Dallas, tonight, 6 p.m.
COLORADO AT DALLAS
6 p.m. tonight, ALT, KKFN 104.3 FM
Spotlight on: Stars winger Brenden Morrow
The Stars’ feisty captain was shaken up in a collision with Jeff Finger on Saturday and had to be helped to the dressing room early in the third period. But he returned to the game. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a concussion,” he said. “If I have, I don’t really know what they feel like. I was more concerned with my neck.”
Avalanche: Jose Theodore’s six-game winning streak is his longest since his Hart Trophy season of 2001-02, when he won seven starts in a row for the Canadiens from March 29-April 9. During the 6-0 stretch, he has a 1.31 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. Calgary is idle today, while Minnesota is at home against San Jose. If the Avs get one or two more points than the Wild does today, Colorado will take over the Northwest Division lead.
Stars: Dallas has lost three in a row and is clinging to a one-point lead over San Jose in the Pacific Division. Tonight is the Stars’ final meeting of the season with the Avs. Colorado holds a 2-1 edge after the home team has won all three previous games. As they were on Saturday, the Stars will be without veteran defensemen Sergei Zubov (foot surgery) and Philippe Boucher (sore shoulder).
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
