Recap
Colorado Avalanche 3, Edmonton Oilers 2 FINAL OT
Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) _ This was anything but a regular game for the Colorado Avalanche.

While Steve Moore remained hospitalized, the Avalanche took the ice Wednesday night and earned a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. And the key offense was supplied by an unlikely source, defenseman Adam Foote, who scored two goals _ including the one that won it 2:37 into overtime.

Foote scored two power-play goals, Joe Sakic had a goal and an assist, and Milan Hejduk and Paul Kariya each had two assists in Colorado's first game since Moore was sucker punched Monday night by Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi.

``We knew he was watching,'' Sakic said of his rookie teammate, out for the season as the result of his injuries, which include broken bones in his neck. ``During the game, you play, you play to win and you put your focus on the game.''

With the Oilers serving a penalty for too many men on the ice, Foote put a backhander behind Ty Conklin to win it.

Even though Foote doesn't put many pucks in the net, he couldn't remember the last time he had such an offensive outburst.

``I should be able to, because there's not a lot of them, but I don't,'' said Foote, who has eight goals this season and 55 in a 13-year career.

Georges Laraque tied it late in the third period for Edmonton. Petr Nedved, playing his third game for Edmonton since being dealt from the New York Rangers, had the other Oilers goal.

The Oilers need victories as they fight to get back into the playoff race.

``We're in a situation where we can't afford to only get one point, but when you consider it's a back-to-back game, it's still pretty satisfying,'' Laraque said.

At Colorado's morning skate, reporters sought out reactions from players on the punch that left Moore hospitalized. There was a strange mood throughout the game, but other than a fight between Ethan Moreau and Matthew Barnaby, a deadline-day Avalanche acquisition, there was little in the way of physical play.

``I said it before, naturally, you want to win the game for him but again, it's just a game,'' Foote said. ``You're going to want to get energy off that.

``We've got a job to do, we want to play hockey. You've got to be professional about it but yet when the game's over, we're concerned, definitely, about how he is.''

David Aebischer stopped 27 shots, while longtime Oilers goalie Tommy Salo watched from the Avalanche bench a day after being traded by the Oilers. He got an ovation from the crowd as he skated off the ice.

Sakic opened the scoring 2:54 in when he took a pass from Hejduk in the slot and put a low wrist shot behind Conklin with Oilers defenseman Jason Smith creating a screen.

Conklin made his first appearance in goal since Feb. 13, a 3-0 loss to Minnesota. He broke his hand the game before when he fought Atlanta goalie Pasi Nurminen.

Edmonton tied it on Nedved's first goal with the Oilers and 15th of the season. He beat Aebischer high on the glove side, 52 seconds into the middle period.

``It was a nice feeling,'' said Nedved, who had six shots on goal, four in the second period. ``I probably could have at least another goal or two.''

Center Chris Gratton and defenseman Ossi Vaananen also played their first games with Colorado after begin acquired from Phoenix before Tuesday's NHL trade deadline.


Three star selections
1st:   PETR NEDVED
2nd:   DAVID AEBISCHER
3rd:   MILAN HEJDUK
Winning Goaltender
David Aebischer

Losing Goaltender
Ty Conklin
Avs Alert
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