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Sunday, December 3, 2000! sportsWIRE was at Madison Square for the Rangers/Av's Battle and we have coverage from the world's most famous arena!!! 
Pics and Videos from this game and Madison Square Garden:  
Click here or on any picture for a link to our game video!! Game Stories : NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic showed what makes the Colorado Avalanche the best team in the NHL. The superstars scored in a 2:21 span of the third period as the Avalanche rallied for a 6-3 victory over the slumping New York Rangers. "Every game, they have found a way to give us big goals," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said. "They are very confident." New York grabbed a 3-2 edge on a shorthanded goal by Mike York with 8:04 left but in the blink of an eye, Colorado regained the lead. Forsberg, who played for the first time in a month, scored his 11th goal, backhanding a rebound past Mike Richter just after a power play expired. "That was the first shorthanded goal we allowed this year," said Hartley. "We had to bounce back and it was good execution." When Forsberg scores, the Avalanche are automatic. They have won the last 11 games in which he has had a goal, going 9-0 this season. "When we're not on top of our game, he is," Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque said. "I'm just honored to be able to skate with him." With 4:32 remaining, Sakic added his 14th goal, batting a mid-air rebound of his own shot off Richter and inside the right goalpost for a 4-3 lead. Ray Bourque and Shjon Podein added shorthanded goals in the final 39 seconds as the Avalanche improved the NHL's best record to 19-4-3-0. They have won five straight games. Arguably the best two-way player in the world, Forsberg added a pair of assists in his return from a pulled rib cage muscle. Colorado went 6-2 without him. "I'm just glad it's over and glad we got a win," Forsberg said. "I didn't feel great skating but when you get a goal, you get a goal." Petr Nedved and Radek Dvorak had goals for the Rangers, who were coming off Saturday's 8-2 loss in Toronto. They have lost three straight and have allowed 25 goals in their last four games. "I thought we played a much better game tonight, obviously," captain Mark Messier said. "We put ourselves in position to win and it was disappointing not to get it." New York's Czech line of Nedved, Dvorak and Jan Hlavac dominated the ice early in the second, combining for two goals 70 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead 3:29 into the period. "I think we took over the game in the second period," Nedved said. "It's frustrating losing a game like this because we battled hard." Just 62 seconds after Dvorak's goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead, Colorado tied it on a power-play goal by Martin Skoula, who beat Richter with a blast from the top of the right faceoff circle. It was the first of two goals in four power-play chances for the Avalanche. They gave up a shorthanded goal but killed all four of the Rangers' power-play chances. York scored New York's NHL high-tying sixth shorthanded goal for a 3-2 lead with 8:04 to play. With a delayed penalty called on Sakic, York drove to the net and banged home a rebound of Theo Fleury's slap shot. Forsberg needed just 71 seconds to tie it. He came unchecked from behind the net and slid a rebound around Richter moments after New York defenseman Rich Pilon's penalty for roughing expired. "I think they just forgot about me," Forsberg said. "I was lazy, staying in front and it came right to me. I was hiding." Moments after the equalizer, the Rangers seemed to get a power play when Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy cleared a puck into the crowd. But referees ruled the puck went over the short boards at mid-ice, negating a delay of game. With 5:01 left, Fleury was called for tripping in the offensive zone. Just 29 seconds into the power play, Sakic took a feed from Forsberg, whipped a shot on net and whacked the rebound out of mid air and just over the goal line. "He obviously made the call and I guess I let my teammates down," Fleury said. "I let the coaching staff down. It was a bad penalty to take and no one feels worse than I do right now." "We were fortunate to take advantage of their lack of discipline in the third period," Hartley said. It was the team-leading 14th goal for Sakic and his fifth in the last three games. It also gave Colorado the lead for good. Avalanche defenseman Greg De Vries was called for delay of game after covering a puck behind his own net with 2:26 left, but the Rangers were unable to manage the equalizer on their final power play. Bourque scored a shorthanded empty-netter with 13 seconds left for a 5-3 lead. Podein added another empty-net goal 16 seconds later to cap the scoring. The Rangers entered the night with a league-high 28 power-play goals but went 0-for-4. - Alex Tanguay opened the scoring off a feed from Sakic midway through the first period. Playing in his 600th NHL game, Nedved tied it 2:19 into the second, and Dvorak gave the Rangers the lead 70 seconds later. NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Sakic scored a power-play goal with 4:32 remaining
and had two assists to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 victory Sunday
night over the New York Rangers.
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