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Roy-some Goalie breaks Sawchuk's record as Avs win 3-2
Updated: Wednesday October 18, 2000 8:34 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Patrick Roy wasted no time to make history. He just needed a few extra minutes. The Colorado goalie set an NHL record with his 448th career victory, passing Terry Sawchuk, as the Avalanche topped the Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday night on Peter Forsberg's goal at 2:27 of overtime. In his first attempt, Roy snapped a tie with Sawchuk, who held the mark -- once considered unbreakable -- since 1970. Sawchuk earned his 447th victory in his 968th game while Roy won No. 448 in his 847th game. "I was honest when I said I wanted to enjoy it and didn't feel any pressure," Roy said. "To be honest with you, I was hoping that we would win this game. I had a lot of friends here, so I was hoping to win it as soon as possible." The 35-year-old goalie tied Sawchuk's mark last Saturday with a victory against expansion Columbus.
"We couldn't write a better script than we did tonight," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "There was no doubt in my mind that we were going for the win in overtime. That was the greatest setup we could imagine, and we had to make sure Patrick would get the credit." Roy has won the Vezina Trophy three times and been a member of three Stanley Cup champions. His 14 seasons of winning at least 20 games is a record. Roy stretched his unbeaten streak to 11 games (9-0-2) and finished with 27 saves, repeatedly robbing the Capitals from in close. He made his biggest save with four seconds left, stopping Jan Bulis' shot from right in front -- admitting later that he never saw it. Washington played poorly on offense in its first five games, but the Capitals pressured Roy throughout and nearly made him wait for another night. "We worked hard and we did the little things right, and we have to keep doing what we did," said Peter Bondra, who scored twice. "We definitely didn't play to be a part of the ceremony tonight, but it happens and congratulations to Patrick." Also at the ceremony was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who came onto the ice with Roy. "Patrick Roy's passion to play is surpassed only by his passion to win," Bettman said. "The remarkable achievement is a testimony to his consistency, his durability, his pride, his skill and, perhaps most of all, his nightly determination to meet the highest standards of goaltending excellence -- his own." The ceremony began after Forsberg redirected Ray Bourque's slap shot past Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig. Standing just in front of the right post, Forsberg pushed the puck into the net, starting the wild celebration. "He is just unbelievable," Forsberg said. "Every night, he gets everything in net, and I think that's why he got this record." Richard Zednik's five-minute penalty for cross-checking, early in overtime, gave Colorado (4-0-2) a three-minute power play that set up the winning goal. Avalanche forward Adam Foote took a two-minute elbowing penalty at the same time and Colorado scored just 56 seconds later.
The Capitals were one of only five teams against which Roy had a record of .500 or less. He was 10-10-2 against Washington entering the game. The loss gave the Capitals (0-4-2) their worst start since 1993-94. Washington lost its first six games that year before rebounding to win nine of 10. Colorado gave Roy an early cushion when Alex Tanguay fired a slap shot past Kolzig on the Avalanche's first shot just 1:11 in. Roy made 10 saves in the first period, and the Avalanche made it 2-0 when Milan Hejduk flipped a backhand rebound over Kolzig with 3:28 left. Washington sliced the lead to 2-1 when Ulf Dahlen poked a loose puck past Roy from in front. Peter Bondra tied it with 3:52 left in the second period. Steve Konowalchuk broke up a Colorado clear, and Bondra pounced on the loose puck and fired it past Roy. Bondra then scored 25 seconds into the third period, breaking in alone on a power play and sliding a shot just inside the left post -- giving the Capitals their first lead of the season. But Colorado's Joe Sakic forced overtime with a power-play goal 3:02 later. Both teams had several scoring chances in the final minutes of regulation, but couldn't convert. It was the first time this season Roy allowed as many as three goals in a game, but he was smiling at the end. "I was just dreaming of playing in the NHL," Roy said. "When you are in the NHL, you just try to survive in that league. It's been a great ride."
Notes: Washington defenseman Brendan Witt injured his arm in the first period and didn't return after playing only two shifts. ... The game was briefly delayed 20 seconds into the third period when the goal light behind Roy went on and couldn't be turned off. ... The Avalanche have the NHL's top road record since 1995-96 at 107-72-27. ... Hejduk has played in 170 straight games while
teammate Chris Drury stretched his streak to 159 games. ... The Capitals hadn't had a lead for the first 350:25 of the season.
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