Denver — Defensemen Ray Bourque, Jon Klemm and Greg de Vries scored goals as the streaking Colorado Avalanche beat San Jose 4-1 Tuesday night.
The victory might have been costly for Colorado, however, as All-Star defenseman Rob Blake and goalie Patrick Roy both exited the game with injuries.
Colorado center Chris Drury, right, flies in the air as he battles San Jose's Matt Bradley. The Avalanche beat the Sharks, 4-1, on Tuesday.
Colorado, 10-1-0-2 in its last 13 games, 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.
Joe Sakic, the league's second-leading scorer, had three points, including an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Blake sprained his right knee early in the second period in a mid-ice collision with San Jose's Bill Lindsay and did not return. Blake, acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 21, was to be re-evaluated on Wednesday.
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 to the game, but he didn't. David Aebischer finished up, stopping all nine shots he faced.
Roy had 15 saves, and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov had 28.
In a first period that saw San Jose outshoot Colorado by a paltry 7-3, 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.
Colorado got goals from Bourque and Klemm in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
Islanders 4, Blues 3
St. Louis Roman Hamrlik scored 23 seconds into overtime as the New York Islanders spoiled Al MacInnis' return to the St. Louis Blues lineup with a victory. MacInnis, who missed 23 games after his left eye was hit by a stick blade Jan. 27, assisted on the Blues' first goal. The game was also the home debut for newly acquired Keith Tkachuk.
Bruins 2, Penguins 2
Pittsburgh Boston shut down Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr and held on to tie Pittsburgh despite wasting 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.
Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 0
Buffalo, N.Y. Dominik Hasek stopped 16 shots to earn his 54th career shutout as Buffalo beat Toronto. Steve Heinze scored his fifth goal in four games with Buffalo, and Dmitri Kalinin and Rhett Warrener also tallied.
Panthers 3, Canadiens 3
Montreal Jim Campbell had a goal and two assists as Montreal overcame Pavel Bure's league-leading 55th goal to tie Florida. Campbell set up Craig Darby's game-tying goal with 8:47 left in the third period as the Canadiens overcame a two-goal deficit. Bure extended his goal-scoring streak to five games when he scored his 18th power-play goal with eight seconds left in the second.
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