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Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 21, 2001
Avs win at price: Blake, Roy hurt
DENVER -- Streaking Colorado beat San Jose 4-1 Tuesday night but the victory might have been costly.
All-Star defenseman Rob Blake and goalie Patrick Roy exited with injuries and did not return.
Blake sprained his right knee early in the second period in a midice collision with San Jose's Bill Lindsay. Blake, acquired Feb. 21 from Los Angeles, was to be re-evaluated today.
Roy departed early in the final period with tendinitis in his knee and the Avs ahead 3-1. The team announced that Roy might return, but he didn't. David Aebischer finished, stopping all nine shots he faced.
Roy had 15 saves, and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov had 28.
Colorado, 10-1-0-2 in its past 13, extended its lead to eight points over Detroit (107-99) in the race for the NHL's best record and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Defensemen Ray Bourque, Jon Klemm and Greg de Vries scored for the Avalanche.
Joe Sakic, the league's second-leading scorer, had three points, including an empty-net goal in the final minute.
In the first period, the Sharks took a 1-0 lead on Owen Nolan's 23rd goal at 7:39. Nolan, with his back to the goal, swatted at the puck and redirected it past Roy.
BRUINS 2, PENGUINS 2: Visiting Boston shut down Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr but wasted a two-goal lead.
Lemieux, who scored at least one goal in five consecutive games, was held scoreless for the first time in 13 games. He was last held scoreless during consecutive games Feb. 17-19, when he was troubled by back pain.
Bruins coach Mike Keenan tried to match defensemen Hal Gill and Eric Weinrich against the Lemieux-Jagr pairing, and Penguins coach Ivan Hlinka usually didn't counter. The only point by either was Jagr's assist on defenseman Hans Jonsson's goal.
The result clinched a playoff spot for Ottawa, the Northeast Division leader. The Bruins moved within two points of idle Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
SABRES 3, MAPLE LEAFS 0: Dominik Hasek earned his 54th shutout for host Buffalo, and perhaps one of his easiest.
Hasek, one of the NHL's premier goalies, faced 16 shots, few of them great opportunities.
"Of course it keeps you nervous," said Hasek, who caught Bernie Parent and Ed Giacomin for 15th on the career shutout list. "It was pretty boring, but you have to keep yourself focused because you can make one mistake and all of a sudden the momentum changes."
Steve Heinze scored his fifth goal in four games with Buffalo, and Dmitri Kalinin and Rhett Warrener also tallied as the Sabres won their fourth straight and 12th in 16 games.
Buffalo's biggest belonged to defenseman Alexei Zhitnik, who dived in front of Yanic Perreault while Hasek was out of position in the second period. Perreault was prevented from shooting at an open net.
ISLANDERS 4, BLUES 3 (OT): Roman Hamrlik scored 23 seconds into overtime for visiting New York, which spoiled Al MacInnis' return.
MacInnis, who missed 23 games after his left eye was hit by a stick blade Jan. 27 against San Jose, assisted on the Blues' first goal.
The game was also the home debut for newly acquired Keith Tkachuk, and forward Tyson Nash returned from a 16-game absence because of a knee injury, but the Blues couldn't make a 2-1 first-period lead stand up.
PANTHERS 3, CANADIENS 3: Jim Campbell had a goal and two assists as host Montreal overcame Pavel Bure's league-leading 55th goal.
Campbell set up Craig Darby's tying goal with 8:47 left as the Canadiens erased a two-goal deficit. Campbell scored his ninth of the season 1:30 into the third, 30 seconds after Olli Jokinen put Florida up 3-1. Bure extended his goal-scoring streak to five games with eight seconds left in the second.
"It's always fun to score goals, but it would be more fun to win," Bure said.
BLUE JACKETS: Right wing Matt Davidson and left wing Martin Spanhel were reassigned to Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
BRUINS: The AHL suspended Providence goalie John Grahame for two games for accidentally hitting an 8-year-old boy in the stands with his broken stick. The boy was not harmed. Grahame was also fined an undisclosed sum.
AVALANCHE: Rob Blake sprained his right knee when he collided with San Jose's Bill Lindsay early in the second period. He will be re-evaluated today.
RED WINGS: Defenseman Chris Chelios (broken left thumb) will be out indefinitely and right wing Darren McCarty (sprained right ankle) will miss 2-3 weeks. Both were injured over the weekend.
McSORLEY TO EUROPE: The International Ice Hockey Federation cleared Marty McSorley to play in Europe, just not this season. He signed with the London Knights, but the British Superleague decided it was too late for him to play this season. His brother, Chris, coaches the Knights. McSorley's one-year suspension, for hitting Vancouver's Donald Brashear with his stick, ended in February but no NHL team signed him.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Canadian Hockey Association plans to invite Eric Lindros to play if he demonstrates a commitment. The CHA plans to contact Gord Kirke, Lindros' lawyer, this week concerning the tournament, April 28-May 13 in Hanover, Germany.
KINGS 6, COYOTES 2: Los Angeles has been playing its best hockey of the season since trading its captain. Phoenix has hit the skids since unloading its captain.
The host Kings scored four goals on their first 10 shots as they improved to 9-1-2 since defenseman Rob Blake went to Colorado. The Coyotes fell to 0-3-1 since left wing Keith Tkachuk left for St. Louis. The Pacific Division rivals were tied at 79 points for the final Western Conference playoff berth.
FLYERS 4, OILERS 2: Visiting Philadelphia won its fourth straight to stay within three points of New Jersey for first place in the East. Eric Desjardins ripped a slap shot past Dominic Roussel at 18:09 of the second period to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead.
DEVILS 4, FLAMES 2: Scott Gomez scored two goals as visiting New Jersey clinched a playoff berth, extended its franchise-record win streak to 11 and recorded its fifth consecutive 40-win season.
STARS 4, WILD 1: Visiting Dallas got two first-period goals from Mike Modano and increased its Pacific Division lead over San Jose to seven points.