Avs Put Sharks In Deep Water

Milan Hejduk scored 7:53 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Monday night to take a two-game advantage in the first-round playoff series.

The series now moves to Denver for the next three games.

Hejduk took a pass from Colorado captain Joe Sakic and fought off Sharks left wing Jeff Friesen in front of the crease to beat goalie Mike Vernon.

Vincent Damphousse, traded to the Sharks from Montreal on March 23, sent the puck from the left point past Colorado goalie Patrick Roy with 3:02 gone in the third period to give San Jose the 1-0 lead.

Roy, who stopped 23 shots, faced 43 San Jose shots in Saturday's series opener, which the Avalanche won 3-1. It was Roy's 101st playoff victory, an on-going NHL record.

Vernon, who faced 16 Colorado shots in the third period alone, had 35 saves. He had been so tough in goal until Foote's shot that the loud sellout crowd at the San Jose Arena regularly rewarded him with a chant of "Ver-non! Ver-non!"

There had been a question whether Sharks coach Darryl Sutter might start backup Steve Shields, who was hot down the stretch in the regular season. But Vernon, 0-5-1 in his past six starts, has more playoff experience, with Stanley Cup titles with both Calgary and Detroit.

The Sharks hd a great chance midway through the second period when Marco Sturm caught Roy out of goal. Sturm had a seemingly wide-open shot from in front of the crease, but Roy dived toward the goal and miraculously stopped the puck with his stick.

The Avalanche were without defenseman Alexei Gusarov, who sprained his left knee in a collision with teammate Theoren Fleury in Game 1. Gusarov is out indefinitely, and will probably miss the ret of the series.

San Jose was without defenseman Andrei Zyuzin, who is serving the second of a two-game suspension for slashing Anaheim left wing Jim McKenzie on April 17.

The series was delayed because of the mass killings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., outside of Denver. The first two games had been scheduled for last Wednesday and Thursday nights in Denver. In honor of those slain, the series did not get under way until Saturday in San Jose.

Also Monday, it was announced the Avalanche and Denver Nuggets are being sold by Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., to a partnership controlled by Bill Laurie and his wife, Wal-Mart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie for $400 million. The sale is pending approval by the NHL, the NBA and the city and county of Denver.

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