Apr 19, 2008 10:43 pm US/Eastern
Avalanche Defeat Wild, Advance In Playoffs
DENVER (CBS) ―
The Colorado Avalanche pumped up their home crowd Saturday night by
defeating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 and advancing to the second round of
the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The tight series came to an end in the sixth game, and was marked by excellent play throughout in goal by Jose Theodore.
Theodore and the Avalanche withstood another onslaught
from the relentless Wild Saturday. Theodore stopped 35 shots, including a glove save
on Kim Johnsson's with 21 seconds left.
The Wild won their first division crown this
season, but Minnesota held a lead in the series for only 4:31 out of a possible 384:23, and not a single second on Saturday.
With
an extra attacker for the final minute, Minnesota accidentally sent
seven men onto the ice for the final face-off. The draw was in the right circle in
the Avalanche end, before Aaron Voros was shooed back to the bench, and
the Wild never managed to tie it.
Ben Guite of the Avalanche scored his first career playoff goal Saturday. It
was a shorthanded goal on goaltender Niklas Backstrom
during the first period. Ryan Smyth scored the second and game-winning
goal.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
