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Svatos tallies in OT as Avalanche snap losing streak

Jan 6, 2008 - 6:52 AM By Dave Reed PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- The Colorado Avalanche found the perfect way to get around Rick DiPietro's pads - shoot over his shoulder.

Marek Svatos scored at 2:05 of overtime for the Avalanche, who snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders.

Jose Theodore made 23 saves for Colorado, which won for the first time since losing Ryan Smyth to a broken ankle on New Year's Eve.

After avoiding a suspension for not having his new pads inspected by league officials Thursday, DiPietro made 38 saves, including 15 in the first period when the Islanders successfully killed three penalties.

"Ricky was phenomenal," New York captain Bill Guerin said. "He's the reason it was a one-goal game."

But when New York failed to capitalize on a 4-on-3 advantage during the first 45 seconds of overtime, the Avalanche took control of the puck in the Islanders' zone.

Scott Hannan found fellow defenseman John-Michael Liles above the right faceoff circle. Liles sent the puck toward the net, and Svatos backhanded it over DiPietro's right shoulder for the game-winner.

"I was right there, so I stopped the puck, tried to go high, and fortunately it went in," Svatos said.

New York credited Colorado's ability to cycle as the reason it was able to generate a lot of its scoring chances.

"They had the puck in our zone for a while," DiPietro said. "They just kept moving it, moving it and moving it. Finally, the puck kind of bounced over to Svatos, and he made a nice shot."

The Avalanche had several quality scoring chances in the opening session, but DiPietro was up to the challenge. He stopped Wojtek Wolski at the top of the crease with 5:25 to go in the period as the Pole redirected Jaroslav Hlinka's pass from the left circle, then went post to post with 86 seconds remaining to stop Hlinka after Andrew Brunette sent a pass through the crease.

DiPietro also stymied Colorado's best chance in the third period, when he stopped Milan Hejduk's tip of Wolski's pass with 12:23 left.

"He played unbelievable, he was the difference," Theodore said when asked if he felt pressured to match his counterpart's performance. "I'm going to play the way I can, and if I do that, I can match or outplay any goalie in this league, and that's what I tried to do tonight."

Tim Jackman put New York on the board 3:18 into the first period, when he beat Theodore to the glove side with a wrist shot from the right circle. It was Jackman's first goal since February 24, 2004 at Chicago while playing for Columbus.

The Avalanche tied the game with 32 seconds remaining in the second as defenseman Jordan Leopold knocked in the rebound of Wolski's shot from the left edge of the crease. Blue-liner Brett Clark picked up his 100th career point by starting the play with a pass to Wolski in the neutral zone.

"We did a good job of containing ourselves, staying composed and getting a huge two points," Leopold said.

Svatos' overtime tally helped Colorado avoid a fifth-straight loss, which would have been its longest string of futility since dropping six in a row from March 30-April 11, 1998.

"We played really well for 63 minutes," Theodore said. "I thought we should have won by more. I think we have to bring the same energy against Detroit (on Tuesday) because, obviously, they're the best team in the league right now."

The Avalanche continued to struggle on the power play, however, going 0-for-4 with the man advantage to run its mark to 0-for-16. Colorado has scored only three goals in its last 43 power-play opportunities during the past 12 games and ranks 28th in the league overall.

For the Islanders, it was the second overtime loss in a row after a 4-3 setback against Florida on Thursday. With the single point, New York has earned at least one in seven of its last eight games.

"We tried to play a smart road game and keep it close, which we did," DiPietro said. "We managed to escape with a point, but we would have rather capitalized on that last power play."