Roy Returns, Saves Colorado

Add Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Jocelyn Thibault to Peter Forberg's list of admirers.

Thibault got a firsthand look at Forsberg as the Colorado Avalanche winger had a shorthanded goal and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche kept the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-14-3 on the road, winless in five games in January, winning 4-1 Tuesday night.

"Ninety-nine

percent of the time, nobody is going to do a move like that on a breakaway," Thibault said. "When you get a breakaway, you just don't think he is going to do a 360 around the net to score."

Forsberg got the go-ahead goal at 16:49. Sakic found Forsberg all alone in the neutral zone. He faked Jocelyn Thibault and defenseman Nelson Emerson to the ice, circled the net and put the puck into the net.

"I was actually going with the backhand, but Thibault got the stick there," Forsberg said. "So I had to take it around. You can't really blame it on him."

Forsberg matched his career-high scoring streak of 10, (three goals and 11 assists) with his 12th goal of the year and assist. The Avalanche is 25-1-7 over two years when Forsberg scores a goal.

"That goal by Forsberg was definitely one of the best plays of the game," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "That goal seemed to give us wings and push us into the third period."

Joe Sakic had a goal and an assist and Claude Lemieux added his team-high 17th goal of the year and third in three games for the Avalanche, which reached the .500 mark (19-19-4) for the first time since Dec. 29, when it was 16-16-3.

Patrick Roy, wh missed eight games with a sprained knee and back spasms and is 41-21-7 with six shutouts lifetime against Chicago, was in goal for the first time since a 4-2 loss to Dallas on Dec. 26. He made 23 saves.

Alexei Zhamnov scored a power play goal, his first goal in nine games for the Blackhawks, 0-5-2 in 1999 and winless since beating the New York Islanders 1-0 on Dec. 31 with Thibault in goal. Thibault, who was involved in a Dec. 6, 1995, trade that sent Roy from Montreal to Colorado, stopped 26 of 30 shots in falling to 0-4-1 against his former teammates.

Chicago cashed in a two-man advantage early in the game to lead 1-0. Doug Gilmour set up Zhamnov from the upper left circle from behind the net and Zhamnov drilled a low drive between Roy's pads at 6:16 for his first goal since Dec. 20.

"When you score the first goal of the game, you have to stretch the lead," Chicago coach Dirk Graham said. "We are going through difficult times, but it is the responsibility of our top players to get things done."

Lemieux and Forsberg gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead with second-period goals. Valeri Kamensky set up Lemieux, who was stopped once, but not on his second attempt at 5:43.

Sakic and Drury scored less than two minutes apart in the third period.

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