Sakic's goal in overtime gives Avalanche a 1-0 win and hope

Colorado stayed alive in the series against the Sharks with its first win.
DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Avalanche finally found a way to beat Evgeni Nabokov and the San Jose Sharks.
It might be too late.
Joe Sakic scored 5 minutes, 15 seconds into overtime, and David Aebischer stopped 27 shots for his first career playoff shutout, lifting Colorado to a 1-0 victory over the Sharks on Wednesday night that kept the Avalanche's slim hopes alive.
"We came into today's game pretty loose and we found a way to win a hockey game," said Sakic, who tied Glenn Anderson for second on the NHL list with his fifth overtime playoff goal. Hall of Fame member Maurice Richard had six.
"It's going to be the same thing for Game 5. Hopefully, we'll find a way to win that one and put a lot of pressure on them coming back into our building."
It won't be easy.
Game 5 Saturday
The Sharks lead the series 3 games to 1 and Game 5 Saturday is in San Jose, where Colorado was outscored 9-3 in the first two games. Even if the Avalanche win, they still have a long way to go -- only two teams in NHL history have rallied to win a series after trailing 3-0.
"We're in a do-or-die situation," Colorado's Adam Foote said. "We had to get the first win and haven't had momentum on our side of the court yet, so we'll see what happens."
Nabokov was superb again, stopping 35 shots, but wasn't able to recover fast enough after Mike Rathje couldn't handle a puck out of the corner in overtime.
Sakic comes through
Sakic took advantage of Rathje's fumble, lifting a shot just inside the left post and crossbar from the slot to end Colorado's scoreless streak against Nabokov at 178:14.
"I don't think anybody expected us to sweep the Avalanche," Nabokov said. "One loss didn't make us a frustrated team."
Besides, the Sharks still have three more chances -- two in San Jose -- to clinch their first trip to the conference finals.
"We still are in control of the series," San Jose's Wayne Primeau said. "We'll go home and hope to keep the same mind-set."
Colorado went on a power play with 1:14 remaining in regulation, when Alexander Korolyuk received a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Teemu Selanne. The Avalanche had trouble setting up, but still had 2:45 to go on the advantage when overtime started.
Nabokov blocks shots
Colorado's Steve Konowalchuk and Marek Svatos each had good chances from close range early in overtime, but Nabokov squeezed his pads together to block both shots and kill off the penalty.
The missed opportunity seemed to have damaged Colorado's chances, but Sakic made up for it with the Avalanche's first goal since Milan Hejduk scored at 7:01 of the first period of Game 2. It was Sakic's fifth overtime playoff goal, tying him with Glenn Anderson for second on the NHL list.
Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 1
TORONTO -- Alexander Mogilny scored on a breakaway to spark a three-goal second-period. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Chad Kilger and Darcy Tucker also scored for Toronto, which still trails the series 2 games to 1.
Game 4 is Friday at Toronto, where the Leafs have won four straight in the playoffs.
"It's big," Mogilny said of the victory. "What do you think? We come home down 2-0. We lose this game, it's pretty much over. We knew what was at stake."
Tony Amonte scored a power-play goal for the Flyers, who lost for only the second time in the postseason after needing only five games to eliminate New Jersey in the first round.
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