Avalanche 3, Sharks 1

By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) If Milan Hejduk has learned anything from playing with Peter Forsberg, it's to keep his stick on the ice.

No matter where Forsberg is or how many players are in the way, Hejduk knows Forsberg will find a way to get the pass through.

Forsberg had three assists two on goals by Hejduk as the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 Monday night to extend their home unbeaten streak to 16 games.

``When you play with a guy like Peter you have to keep your stick on the ice and be aware,'' said Hejduk, who extended his career-high goal total to 46. ``There is always a chance.''

The Avalanche have climbed back into the Northwest Division title race behind Forsberg's second career 100-point season.

He has 12 assists during a six-game points streak and moved within a point of Vancouver's Markus Naslund for the NHL scoring lead. Forsberg has 102 points, with 10 goals and 32 assists coming in the past 26 games.

``It is always good to get 100 points, but really I don't really care,'' said Forsberg, who had a career-high 116 points in 1995-96. ``Getting points and having to keep the team winning is fine with me.''

Colorado dropped 13 games behind Vancouver in the Northwest Division after a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Jan. 16. Since then, the Avalanche are 13-0-2-1 at home and 23-4-4-3 overall to inch closer to an NHL-record ninth consecutive division title.

``There is time,'' Forsberg said. ``I mean there are three games for us to play. If we can win all of them, who knows?''

The Sharks are just playing out the string in a lost season.

San Jose started the season with high hopes after pushing Colorado to seven games in the playoffs last year, but it's been nothing but disappointment since.

Coach Darryl Sutter was fired on Dec. 1 and it hasn't gotten much better lately. The Sharks have not won on the road since Feb. 27 against Vancouver (0-6-0-1) and are 1-3-0-1 their last five games overall.

``Since we are out, it tough to motivate, but we try to do our best,'' said Marco Sturm, who scored his 28th goal of the season 9:30 into the game. ``We've got a lot of young guys now so we try to improve and hopefully get something done.''

The Sharks had a hard time doing much of anything against Patrick Roy.

Roy was solid on the night he became the first goalie in NHL history to eclipse 60,000 minutes, stopping 22 shots to extend his unbeaten streak to six games.

He has allowed five goals in six games and two or fewer in 23 of 27.

``Patrick Roy made some big saves at key moments to put them in a position to finish us off at the end,'' Sharks coach Ron Wilson said.< ^Notes:@ Colorado has outscored opponents 22-3 its last five home games. ... San Jose G Evgeni Nabokov stopped 25 shots. ... Colorado swept San Jose 4-0 in the season series, outscoring the Sharks 14-3. ... The Avalanche reached 100 points for the fourth time in eight years in Denver and eclipsed the 40-win mark for the eighth consecutive year. ... Sturm has three goals in two games.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)