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Finger's print on win

Wolski's OT goal for Avs sends Rangers packing

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 22, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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Rangers defenseman Fedor Tyutin clears out Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk, who scored twice in a 4-3 overtime win Friday.

Photo by David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Rangers defenseman Fedor Tyutin clears out Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk, who scored twice in a 4-3 overtime win Friday.

Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski reaches past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to score the winning goal in overtime Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

Photo by David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski reaches past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to score the winning goal in overtime Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

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Jeff Finger had just hopped over the bench onto the ice in overtime and his eyes lit up as he skated across the blue line into the New York Rangers end.

A deflected puck was sliding right to him and he had a wide-open lane to the net.

Finger is a hard-nosed Avalanche defenseman with three goals in 53 NHL games, so he has no illusions about developing into another Bobby Orr, but in this case he had no choice but to fire away.

His shot skimmed between the pads of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lund qvist and might have gone into the net, but Wojtek Wolski tapped it across the goal line (at 1:16) just to make sure, giving the Avalanche a come-from-behind 4-3 win Friday night before 16,612 at the Pepsi Center.

"I was just coming into the play and the puck bounced right out to me," Finger said. "I think they had broken up a play and it bounced right out. I walked right in, and it was almost too much time for a guy like me. I just made sure I shot it hard and it rattled through and 'Woolie' put it in."

Wolski almost sounded guilty about nudging the puck home.

"It probably would have went in, but I just didn't want to take a chance," he said.

"It was going really slow and I just wanted to make sure that I put it in."

The win, the Avalanche's fourth in overtime and third in 14 games when trailing after two periods, moved it back into a first-place tie with Minnesota and Vancouver in the Northwest Division.

The Avalanche has gone 7- 3-1 without injured captain Joe Sakic - five other regulars are missing, including Ryan Smyth - 4-0-1 in the past five games and 6-1-1 in eight.

"We're definitely missing some key guys and everybody has to step up," said Milan Hejduk, who scored two goals in the second period.

"I'm not changing my game or anything like that. Some of us are getting a little bit more ice time and getting out there in key situations. It's tough to play without some top guys, but that's what we have to do right now."

The Avalanche needed a third-period goal from Marek Svatos, his second in 11 games, to forge a 3-3 tie.

After fanning on a shot in the slot following a save by Lund qvist, Svatos took another whack and lifted it over the prone goalie at 8:23.

Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj only had to make four saves after that, but none was bigger than one against Fedor Tyutin with about 31/2 minutes to play in regulation.

Tyutin was near the left hash mark when he took a cross-ice pass from Nigel Dawes and launched a tricky shot.

Budaj closed his pads to keep the puck out, but he looked behind him and made sure to smother it.

"(Dawes) kind of slipped, but he still made a great pass," Budaj said. "I tried to get as square as possible. The puck almost trickled in, but it didn't. I was happy to make that stop to get us to overtime.

"I didn't have many shots because I think we played a strong game, but they had some chances."

Hejduk scored his two goals early in the second period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead, but it lasted all of 26 seconds.

Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival scored from the right point at 8:04 and Scott Gomez followed at 9:09, with both shots eluding Budaj to the short side. Budaj was screened by two teammates on Rozsival's goal, and Gomez then made a perfect shot from the outer edge of the left circle.

Hejduk, who had gone five games without a goal, connected from the slot at 3:22 off a pass from Andrew Brunette and scored again at 7:38 after a turnover by the Rangers' Jason Strudwick that Wolski scooped up.

Lundqvist made 16 saves in the first period - nine during four of the Avalanche's six total power plays - and New York opened the scoring on a power-play goal by Brendan Shanahan, who was parked at the edge of the crease when he cashed in a pass from Gomez at 13:25 of the period.

The Avalanche, in a 2-for-22 slump with the man advantage, then failed to score on a 4- minute advantage that began at 1:17 of the first period after Rozsival was assessed a double- minor for high-sticking Paul Stastny.

The Avalanche also couldn't capitalize on a five-on-three that lasted 1:43 near the end of the period.

Avalanche 4, Rangers 3, OT

N.Y. Rangers1 2 0 0 - 3

Colorado0 2 1 1 - 4

First period - 1, NYR, Shanahan 12 (Gomez, Drury), 13:25. Penalties - Rozsival, NYR, double minor (high-sticking), 1:17; McLeod, Col, (roughing), 9:12; Mara, NYR (roughing), 9:12; Dubinsky, NYR, major (fighting), 12:41; Svatos, Col, (high-sticking), 12:41; McLeod, Col, major (fighting), 12:41; Girardi, NYR (hooking), 17:35; Staal, NYR (hooking), 17:52.

Second period - 2, Col, Hejduk 14 (Brunette, Stastny), 3:22 (pp). 3, Col, Hejduk 15 (Stastny, Wol ski), 7:38. 4, NYR, Michal Rozsival 9 (Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka), 8:04. 5, NYR, Staal 2 (Gomez, Straka), 9:09. Penalties - Dubinsky, NYR (interference), 2:41; Laperriere, Col, major (fighting), 11:45; Hollweg, NYR, major (fighting), 11:45; Clark, Col, (unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:20; Hejduk, Col, (interference), 16:10.

Third period - 6, Col, Svatos 11 (Hlinka, Hensick), 8:23. Penalties - Orr, NYR (high-sticking), 6:11.

Overtime - 7, Col, Wolski 12 (Finger, Clark), 1:16. Penalties - None.

Shots - NYR 10-8-5-0 - 23. Col 16-10-9-2 - 37. Power plays - NYR 1 of 3; Col 1 of 6. Goalies - NYR, Lundqvist 16-12-3 (37 shots-33 saves). Col, Budaj 13-6-1 (23-20). A - 16,612 (18,007). T - 2:25. Referees - Dave Jackson, Mike Leggo. Linesmen - Lonnie Cameron, Lyle Seitz.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com

NUMBERS GAME

7consecutive Avalanche wins against the Rangers, whose most recent victory against Colorado was Nov. 20, 2001, at Madison Square Garden.

SMYTH STILL HURTING

Avalanche left wing Ryan Smyth missed his second game in a row because of a neck strain and coach Joel Quenneville termed his availability for the game against Vancouver on Sunday as "extremely doubtful."

Left wing David Jones, recalled from the Lake Erie Monsters on Thursday, made his NHL debut and played on a line with fellow rookie T.J. Hensick and Andrew Brunette. He was only given three shifts in the third period, one with fellow rookies Hensick and Cody McLeod, the latter who played in his first NHL game Wednesday in Anaheim.

Jones is the sixth player summoned from the American Hockey League team this season and the fourth rookie.

DRURY RETURNS

Chris Drury, a fan favorite during his four seasons with the Avalanche, centered a Rangers line with Nigel Dawes and Brendan Shanahan. He registered an assist on a first-period power-play goal but also was on the ice for the Avalanche's last three goals and finished minus-3 for the game.

Drury, who signed a five-year, $35.25 million contract with the Rangers after leaving Buffalo as a free agent, has eight goals and 16 assists in 35 games.

HE SAID IT

"It's hard to play against a team that has such great names as they have, such a strong offensive team."

Peter Budaj, Avalanche goalie, who only had to face 23 shots.

Rick Sadowski

Comments

  • December 22, 2007

    8:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    R8R_H8R writes:

    How cooL is that? WoLski almost feels guilty that he scored a goaL. I love this game of hockey, and I love the bLue-coLLar work ethic and team work of the players. I too was thinking, "oh darn it", when Fingers did not get the goal, but the team got the goaL and that! was good. The Avs have put forth a great effort with so many key players out with injury and the fans Love it.