Patrick perfection

Avs end Kings' home unbeaten streak to take 3-1 series lead

Steven Reinprecht (center) ripped a slap shot past Felix Potvin at 5:57 of the second for the only goal of the game. AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Colorado's Patrick Roy cleared his mind of everything, and did the same with each puck that came his way.

Roy made 32 saves for his 20th NHL career playoff shutout and Steven Reinprecht scored in the second period as the Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 Tuesday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"My objective was not to think -- just follow the play and not allow myself to go through some negative stuff and just try to be patient and make it very simple," Roy said.

Roy, the NHL career leader in postseason shutouts, was at his best in turning away the most shots he's faced in the series. He made 18 saves in Colorado's 3-1 loss Monday night.

"We were throwing everything we could at them," Kings defenseman Aaron Miller said. "We just couldn't get one by."

"Patrick proved once again that he's the best goalie that ever played this game," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said. "Those 1-0 games are tough to get by without the performance that Patrick is used to giving us."

Kings goaltender Felix Potvin was nearly as good, stopping 24 shots in the series' tightest defensive contest yet.

"Once we gave up that one goal, you knew there was no place for another error because Patrick was playing well and you knew it was going to be tough to beat him," Potvin said.

Beginning with Game 5 Thursday in Denver, where the Avalanche have already won twice, the Kings must win three in a row to clinch the series.

"I know our players believe we can win on Thursday," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "We'll have a tough battle on our hands, but our goal is to go in there and win one hockey game and bring it back for Game 6 and we'll win back here."

Roy remembers holding a 3-1 lead over the Kings in their Western Conference semifinal last year.

"We had a Game 5, and then a Game 6, and then a Game 7," he said. "So it's going to be important for us to be ready for the next game."

The Kings lost for the first time in 13 games at Staples Center, where they are 10-1-2 dating to the regular season.

It was the lowest scoring game of the series so far between two of the NHL's best defensive teams, who played 24 hours apart to satisfy television.

"It's been such a physical series because they're such a good skating team," Colorado defenseman Rob Blake said. "They match you speed for speed and hit for hit. In the last game, they outhit us and outplayed us, but I think we stood up to that a little bit better."

Reinprecht got his second game-winning goal of the series. He put the Avalanche ahead en route to a 5-3 victory in Game 2 at Denver.

Reinprecht, acquired as part of the February 2001 trade that sent Blake from Los Angeles to Colorado, scored his third goal of the series at 5:57 of the second.

"I've just been throwing the puck toward the net and they've been finding holes," he said.

With Los Angeles defensemen dogging him in front and behind, Reinprecht got off a shot high over Potvin's left shoulder that hit the mesh and came down hard into the net for the game's only goal.

"It was one of those perfect shots right in the corner," Potvin said. "Those shots you can't play a percentage and it happened to hit the corner."

Peter Forsberg notched his fifth assist and sixth point of the series, but he and Joe Sakic were quiet offensively for the second consecutive game. Forsberg had one shot in nearly 17 minutes, while Sakic had three shots in 22 1/2 minutes.

The Kings scored three goals in each of the first three games, including a victory Monday in Game 3, but got nothing from their No. 1 line of Ziggy Palffy, Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh. The trio accounted for seven goals and nine assists in the first three games.

"We played better in our own zone, the [Allison] line that scored seven of their nine goals was shut down, and our defensemen deserve a lot of credit for that," Roy said.

Deadmarsh left the game in the first 15 seconds of the third period. He smacked helmet-first into the boards while chasing Colorado's Adam Foote, whose left leg also got in Deadmarsh's way.

"He has a neck strain and will play Thursday," Murray said.

Notes: The team that scores first has won every game in the series. ... It was Colorado's first 1-0 playoff victory since clinching the Stanley Cup in triple overtime at Florida on June 10, 1996. ... The Avalanche improved to 12-7 in Game 4s since 1996, and 10-5 on the road. ... For the second consecutive game, Murray chose size over offensive skill in benching D Lubomir Visnovsky and LW Jaroslav Bednar. LW Cliff Ronning also was scratched. ... The crowd of 18,700 was the largest ever to attend a hockey game in California.

 

Related information
Stories
Three Stars: Johnson making history as Blues roll over Blackhawks Avs drop Game 3, still lead Kings 2-1 2002 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily Schedule
Stats
Avalanche-Kings Game Summary
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.