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Avs keep brooms handy Colorado looking for series sweep in Phoenix
Posted: Monday April 17, 2000 07:53 PM
PHOENIX (AP) -- Forget the Whiteout. The Phoenix Coyotes are trying to avoid a whitewash. Two games into the first round, the Coyotes are down 0-2 to the Colorado Avalanche and face being swept in a playoff series for the first time since 1987, when Edmonton ousted them in the second round. Coincidence or not, that was the last postseason in which they advanced past the first round. To avoid a ninth consecutive first-round exit, the Coyotes need every friendly howl from their white-clad fans, who try to give a snowy look to home ice in honor of a tradition that began when the franchise was still in Winnipeg. Phoenix also needs to find a way to slow down speedy attackers like Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and rookie Alex Tanguay, perform the nearly impossible by solving Colorado goalie Patrick Roy and stop taking costly penalties. In Colorado's 3-1 victory Saturday, the Avalanche had 10 power plays and scored on three. Two of the goals came with a 5-on-3 advantage. "If they're going to play like that, it's OK," Sakic said. "We'll just have a lot of power-play opportunities." The Avalanche had two power-play goals during a four-goal first period in Game 1, then coasted to a 6-3 victory that set the tone for the series. In each game, the winning goal was scored in the first period. "Special teams are so important in the playoffs," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "We want to make sure we keep taking advantage of our special teams. We have great skaters and lots of skill, and right now we're executing very well." The Avalanche, who haven't lost in the first round since 1995, also know what kind of grit it takes to advance. Forsberg, who separated a shoulder in the next-to-last game of the regular season, returned eight days later in Game 2 and had an assist -- as if his inspired leadership wasn't enough. The Coyotes went at him from the first shift, but he pronounced himself fine afterward. "I wouldn't be playing if there was a chance of reinjuring it," Forsberg said. Phoenix has its own star playing hurt -- captain Keith Tkachuk missed 30 games because of injuries, including 22 of the last 27 trying to rest a sprained ankle, hasn't scored a point since Jan. 31 and has just one shot in the series. His attempt to return hasn't worked as well as Forsberg's in a medical sense, either. Tkachuk still limps noticeably, and his movement around the net appears restricted. Coyotes scoring leader Jeremy Roenick has no points in the postseason either. His frustration was evident at the end of the second game, when he tangled with Roy after the goalie went behind the net. Roenick declined comment on the officiating, citing the chance of being fined, but left no question he felt it was one-sided. "Ray Bourque is the Messiah. You can't touch him," Roenick said about the great defenseman whose late-season arrival in Colorado helped turn a middling power play into the weapon it has been against Phoenix. Coach Bob Francis agreed, then said he didn't want refereeing to be an issue, just consistency. "We talked about interference coming into the series, but we didn't realize that everyone has one set of rules and Ray Bourque has another set," Francis said. "We're on a power play, and he has an infraction and it wasn't called. We do the same thing and it's called. I think the infraction has to be pretty severe to put a team 5-on-3. They had two of them."
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