Avs' Roy Gets His 407th Win
Patrick Roy cradled the puck moments after becoming the NHL's career victory leader.
"There is no doubt you need to have a good career to be able to pass guys like (Jacques) Plante and (Terry) Sawchuk," Roy said after recording his 506th win counting regular season and playoffs as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 Sunday.
Roy also tied Glenn Hall for fourth place on the all-time regular-season winning list with his 407th. Only Sawchuk (447), Plante (434) and Tony Esposito (423) have more regular-season wins than Plante and Roy (407-240-94).
"I don't want to sit on that, but rather keep going, play well and hopefully there will be more win," Roy said.
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Theo Fleury had a hat trick and an assist for the Avalanche, who are 5-3-2 in their last 10 home games. It was the third hat trick of the season and 14th of his career for Fleury, who has points in all six games (7 goals, 6 assists) since coming to Colorado in a Feb. 28 trade with Calgary.
Joe Sakic had a goal and two assists and Milan Hejduk four assists for the Avalanche.
"Our execution was very good," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "We were moving the puck, making smart decisions and got everything we wanted from all four lines."
Kings starting goalie Jamie Storr lasted only 5:09 into the game before being pulled for Stephane Fiset. Russ Courtnall and Ian Laperriere had unassisted goals for the Kings, who lost their third straight.
"I thought their first two goals weren't good goals," Los Angeles coach Larry Robinson said. "We are such a fragile team right now because we can't put the puck in the net. You let in two quick goals like that (and it) just kills you, and all of a sudden we got away from our game plan."
Colorado scored 34 seconds into the game when Fleury sent a one-timer under the stick of Storr after receiving a cross-ice pass from Sakic. Deadmarsh pickd up a loose puck in the slot and sent a wrist shot between the pads of Storr at 5:09.
"It is always important to get off to a good start," Fleury said. "You don't necessarily have to score every time, but you don't want to give the other team opportunities and we held them under 10 scoring chances."
Fiset replaced Storr and escaped further damage in the period, but not in the second period when the Avalanche extended their lead to 5-1. Fleury and Sakic worked a give-and-go from the neutral zone with Fleury putting the return pass into the net at 3:01 for his 36th.
"It was tough because I don't think I'd even gotten into the game," Storr said. "But at the same point, the way Colorado came up and played, Stephane stood on his head and they still found ways."
Lemieux scored 23 seconds later on a rebound. Courtnall cashed in on Roy's turnover at 5:46 for Los Angeles, but Sakic matched it with his 37th at 11:20.
Drury and Fleury had third-period goals for Colorado.
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