The Colorado Avalanche buried the Dallas Stars 4-0 behind Craig Anderson's 27 saves to win their sixth game in a row on Sunday. Chris Stewart and Paul Stastny both had a goal and an assist for the Northwest Division leaders, but it was the heroics of Anderson in goal, who kept his fifth shutout of the season, that were the biggest talking point afterwards.
Anderson himself was modest of his efforts, saying: "It's something that at the end of the year, I can look back and say, 'Yeah that was a good stretch'," he told ESPN. "But for me, it's just about staying focused and worrying about the next game and getting ready for that. Because you're only as good as your next game." Brett Clark's power-play score with the game five minutes old and TJ Galiardi's short-handed goal six minutes later staked the Avalanche to a 2-0 first period lead. Stewart made it 3-0 with his 17th goal of the season in the second period and Stastny added the final score, a power-play effort in the third.
The Dallas coach Mark Crawford blamed tiredness for his side's poor display, as the match was their third away game in four days. "We were a tired hockey club and we needed to keep it close and we didn't keep it close tonight," he said. "We gave up a power-play goal on their first shot of the power play and then we gave up the breakaway for the short- handed goal. When you do that, it's tough coming back."
Meanwhile in other NHL action, Matt Cooke's power-play goal less than two minutes from the end gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 away win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Cooke managed to steer home Sergei Gonchar's slap shot to confound Ray Emery and earn his side the win. The match winner said there was a degree of fortune about his strike. "I didn't do anything," he admitted. "I didn't see the puck. I was trying to create as much havoc as I could. Gonchar shot it off my stick and it went in.
The Boston Bruins' miserable run continued with a 5-1 defeat at the Carolina Hurricanes. Jussi Jokinen scored and set up two while goaltender Cam Ward made 27 saves in an impressive performance which condemned the Bruins to a fifth consecutive loss. * With agencies
