ST. PAUL, Minn.—Joe Sakic humbly shrugged off his latest highlight as a product of simply being in the right place at the right time.
Colorado’s 38-year-old captain has enjoyed plenty of that over his career, though his success couldn’t have come without a wide array of skills that are still there despite a decline in production during the regular season.
If this is Joe Sakic’s final playoff run, he sure started it with a flourish.
Sakic’s backhand 11:11 into overtime sent the Avalanche past the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Wednesday night in the first game of this first-round series.
“I was pretty fortunate to be in that spot,” said Sakic, who also assisted on Kurt Sauer’s second-period goal.
By being there for the ricochet of Ruslan Salei’s shot from the point and nudging the puck past Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, Sakic notched his eighth career overtime playoff goal—an NHL record.
“Really, the only reason we were there was Theodore’s play. I thought Jose kept us in it, especially in that first period. He was unbelievable keeping it 0-0. He deserves real credit for keeping us in the game,” Sakic said, nodding to goalie Jose Theodore’s 28 saves.
Game 2 is at Minnesota on Friday. The Wild didn’t sound deflated, even if they wasted a 20-7 edge in shots over the first period and still found themselves trailing 2-0.
Goals by Mikko Koivu and Todd Fedoruk forged a tie just 6:13 into the third period, but a second-period head injury to Mark Parrish left Minnesota missing depth up front. An appendectomy for shutdown defenseman Nick Schultz earlier this week forced lesser defenseman into significant minutes. Coach Jacques Lemaire said he thought his team might have been a bit tired in extra time.
“We know we can play these guys,” Koivu said. “We know it’s going to be tight all the way. That’s how it’s going to be. It’s going to be a fight. Every game, every shift. We just couldn’t finish the way we wanted.”
Coming off a season when he missed 38 games because of a hernia and saw his production drop to 13 goals, Sakic has not decided whether to return next fall. He’s been playing on one-year contracts, but the Avs would certainly offer him another one without hesitation.
“This guy has got nothing but dedication and heart towards winning,” teammate Ryan Smyth said. “He knows what it takes.”
Colorado welcomed Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote back in February to reunite that outstanding core with Sakic for maybe their last crack together at another title. The Avalanche got strong goaltending by Theodore down the stretch and entered the playoffs poised, experienced and perhaps even the favorite in this matchup.
The division-champion Wild won the season series 5-2-1, but they miss Schultz as a check against that potent, slick-passing Colorado attack.
They won’t be able to advance as they did four years ago against the Avs, rallying from a 3-1 deficit and stunning the NHL by winning the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals, if they let this savvy opponent get all the little breaks.
“They nearly get a goal every time you make a mistake,” Lemaire said. “If they don’t, they get really close. You really have to be focused on every detail when you play them.”
The Avs had three chances to win it near the end of regulation. David Jones kicked in a loose puck, which was waved off. Then, Milan Hejduk’s deflection of Chris Finger’s slap shot clanked off the post.
Finally, Smyth was awarded a penalty shot with 2:27 remaining following a scrum around the crease, but Backstrom smothered his right-then-left attempt to sneak the puck around his stick.
“I’ll have to take Joe out for dinner, I guess,” Smyth said. “He saved me—bailed me out.”
Once again.
“Joe’s a scorer. He’s a great player. He knows his way around the rink as good as anybody,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. “Sometimes you get the fortunate bounce, but you know where to go to get those fortunate bounces.”
Notes:@ Backstrom’s save of Smyth’s penalty shot was clutch. He’s 4-11 with a .386 save percentage in career shootouts. … In 23 career games at Minnesota’s arena, Sakic has 20 points—more than any other visiting player.
