Avalanche Bring Down Stars

After being flogged in Canada, the Colorado Avalanche ended the season with a Fleury.

Theo Fleury scored on a rebound with 12.7 seconds remaining to lift the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in a matchup of the Western Conference's two top teams Sunday.

The goal gave Colorado a boost following back-to-back 5-1 losses to Calgary and Edmonton. The Avalanche are the No. 2 seed in the West and will open the playoffs against seventh-seeded San Jose on Wednesday.

"We played a couple of games that didn't mean a whole lot, and those are the toughest game to play in," Fleury said. "We realized that we didn't play our best hockey, and we wanted to treat this game like a playoff game."

Despite losing its final two games, Dallas finished the season with an NHL-best 114 points. The Stars, who will face eighth-seeded Edmonton, also gave up a league-low 168 goals to capture the Jennings Trophy.

"I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I think the Jennings Trophy was significant. It's obviously a reward for being a strong, committed defensive team. That's going to be our calling card in the playoffs."

A defensive lapse allowed the Avalanche to start quickly as Joe Sakic scored 65 seconds into the game. Dallas goaltender Manny Fernandez, in goal for the first time this season, stopped the next 27 shots before Fleury's game-winner.

"I was missing a minute," Fernandez said. "I was a little bit cold and a little nervous, but then as the game went on, I think I made a couple of saves that brought me back into the game. It's just too bad that we lose like that. Nobody wants that."

Patrick Roy finished with 30 saves for the Avalanche, who ended the season with a 10-game home unbeaten streak (8-0-2).

"We talked a lot the last two days and we came to the point where we had talkd enough," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "We had to bring our talking to the ice, and we did."

While the season ended on a high note for the Avalanche, the Stars dropped their last two games in a span of 24 hours. They still remain among the favorites to reach the Stanley Cup finals, having won the Presidents' Trophy with the league's top record for the second straight year.

"We're pretty confident. You have to feel confident when you win the Jennings and the Presidents' Trophy," forward Mike Keane said. "We had a good year, but now it's a whole different season. We're ready to play."

Milan Hejduk assisted on both Colorado goals to capture the rookie scoring title with 48 points. He scored 18 points in his final 15 games to edge New Jersey's Brendan Morrison by one point.

It looked like neither team would break a 1-1 tie in the third period, but Fleury charged in and put a rebound past Fernandez after Hejduk's slap shot from the slot.

"Every coach preaches driving hard to the net," said Fleury, who finished the season with 40 goals. "I managed to get my stick in there and it found its way to the back of the net."

Trailing 1-0, the Stars tied the game on a fortunate bounce 4:37 into the second period. Sergei Zubov's shot from the right circle ricocheted off the skate of teammate Joe Nieuwendyk and past Roy.

Both teams combined for 20 shots and 11 scoring chances in a wide-open first period, but Colorado managed the only goal as Sakic beat Fernandez between the legs for his 41st goal of the season.

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