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DETROIT (Ticker) -- Through the first two months, the Detroit Red Wings have been the best team in the NHL. The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche showed they are ready to make up for lost time. Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist and Joe Sakic set up a pair of scores as Colorado extended its season-high unbeaten streak to six games with a 4-1 rout of Detroit. Patrick Roy made 30 saves and All-Star defenseman Rob Blake returned from a groin injury to score his seventh goal of the season as Colorado improved to 5-0-1 in its last six games. The Avalanche also snapped the Red Wings' nine-game home unbeaten streak (8-0-1). "It shows how ready we were," Roy said of the Avalanche's quick start and solid play. "I thought it showed our team was ready to play a big game it was a good challenge for our team. It is a good stretch for us right now, the team has been playing well." "Roy covered all the rebounds and they got a couple of goals on rebounds," Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said. "That is the difference right there." Colorado coach Bob Hartley was quick to point out the benefit of having Blake back in the lineup and the veteran Roy in the pipes. "He came to us this morning and said he could play," Hartley said. "Looking at the game he played, he stepped up and did like he said he would. ... Patrick was Patrick. I felt he totally outplayed (Red Wings goaltender Dominik) Hasek." Detroit's 22-5-1-1 record and 46 points are tops in the league, but red-hot Colorado moved three games over .500 (15-12-2-0) for the first time this season. Sergei Fedorov had his 13th goal for Detroit, which has endured back-to-back losses for the first time since January 20-21 -- a span of 60 games. Hasek was shaky in net, stopping just eight of 10 shots in the opening period. He faced just eight shots the rest of the way but surrendered goals to Steven Reinprecht and Blake over the final 40 minutes. "I know he can play better than that," said Colorado right wing Milan Hejduk, who scored 32 seconds into the contest. "He stopped some pretty good chances. We were able to play our game, play good defense and Patty made some great saves." Hejduk beat Hasek from between the circles for his sixth goal of the season and took a lot of steam out of the crowd. When Vrbata scored with a one-timer from a bad angle less than six minutes later, the crowd was nearly silent. Vrbata has three goals and seven assists in his first eight NHL games while Hejduk has three goals and five assists in his last nine contests. Detroit managed to halve the deficit on Fedorov's goal 8:18 into first period, but Reinprecht had the lone goal in a very defensive second period and Colorado really turned up the defense thereafter. Sakic, who picked up an assist on Hejduk's goal, set up Blake's tally with 3 1/2 minutes to go. He has five goals and 10 assists in his last nine games and 48 points in 38 career games against Detroit. Detroit lost for just the second time this season when outshooting an opponent and began the second period trailing for just the fifth time this season. "You don't want to have games like that," Red Wings left wing Luc Robitaille said. "We don't think we played our best. We just got to pick it up, go simple, put the puck at the net and crash the net. That it what we have to do more." "It is tough to give up the first goal in the first minute," Detroit right wing Darren McCarty said. "We had chances we did not capitalize on tonight. They capitalized on theirs. They are on a roll right now, we have to get back in being solid and playing 60 minutes of hockey. We feel we are the best team in the league, with the talent we have in here but we got to play the game." |
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