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Sakic reaches 100 points as Avalanche top Flames

Apr 9, 2007 - 4:54 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Captain Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche showed the rest of the NHL what it will be missing in the postseason.

Sakic scored the decisive goal and added two assists to reach 100 points for the sixth time in his career as the Avalanche posted a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Ben Guite, Andrew Brunette and rookie Paul Stastny each had a goal and an assist and tough guy Scott Parker netted his first tally of the season for Colorado (44-31-7), which failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

The Avalanche finished one point behind the Flames (43-29-10) for the final spot in the Western Conference despite finishing 15-2-2 in their last 19 games.

"We gave it a (heck) of an effort down the stretch," Brunette said. "There's something positive to take out of this little run. We fell a little bit short, but what we did for that stretch, for everybody involved, is pretty cool."

Colorado went 5-3-0 against Calgary this season, winning each of the final four meetings.

"It's a good positive sign the way we played down the stretch going into next year," Sakic said.

Trailing, 3-2, rookie Wojtek Wolski banged in the rebound with 2:46 left in the second period after Sakic's shot bounced off goaltender Jamie McLennan. The goal gave Wolski 50 points on the season.

Colorado broke open the game in the third as Sakic began a three-goal onslaught with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle during a power play 44 seconds into the session. With the tally, Sakic became the seventh player this season to reach the 100-point plateau.

The goal was the 610th of the Avalanche captain's career, tying Hall of Famer Bobby Hull for 14th place on the all-time list. The 2001 Hart Trophy winner also has 1,589 career points, one behind Phil Esposito for eighth all-time.

Parker tallied at 3:09, ripping a shot between the pads of McLennan to give Colorado a 5-3 advantage. Stastny added his 28th goal of the season with 45 seconds remaining to cap the scoring.

The son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, the 21-year-old finished second in scoring among rookies with 77 points, eight behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

"We have a young team," Sakic said. "Guys really came together and learned how to win together, and it's going to be a big thing going into next year."

Jose Theodore stopped 29 shots for Colorado, which improved to 6-1-1 in its last eight home meetings with Calgary.

"Denver is a great hockey city," Sakic said. "I mean, the game didn't mean anything, but the fans were behind us the whole way. You saw the ovation we had at the end. It's a special place to play, and we're really appreciative."

Two former members of the Avalanche had two-point efforts for the Flames as Stephane Yelle recorded a goal and an assist and Alex Tanguay set up a pair of tallies. Calgary played without captain Jarome Iginla, who remained home to prepare for the playoffs.

With Miikka Kiprusoff also being rested, McLennan yielded six goals on 32 shots for the Flames, who begin their conference quarterfinal series against the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

"Maybe we're down a bit right now, but it's all behind us," Flames center Craig Conroy said. "We start fresh on Thursday."