VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Just when it looked like the Avalanche's postseason chances were about to take a big hit, the team received a major boost from a fellow who had been rusting away on the bench.

Goalie Jose Theodore, who hadn't played in exactly one month, replaced Peter Budaj late in the first period and, though he only faced seven shots the rest of the way through a 5-minute overtime, came up huge in the Avalanche's 5-4 shootout win Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks before a sellout crowd of 18,630 at General Motors Place.

Theodore stopped all three Canucks shooters - Trevor Linden, Brendan Morrison and Daniel Sedin - to make Brett McLean's shootout goal stand up against Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

The victory, coupled with Calgary's earlier win in Chicago, gave the Avalanche a 10-0-2 record in the past 12 games and kept it five points behind the Flames for the final Western Conference playoff berth with seven games remaining.

The Canucks, meanwhile, collected a point to move into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the Northwest Division.

"The guys never quit," said Theodore, who picked up his first win since Feb. 6, a 5-4 overtime decision against Florida.

"I felt pretty good. Obviously, it's a huge two points for the team. We're fighting so hard and we couldn't let those two points slip away."

Theodore said the Avalanche, which lost a 4-3 shootout decision Friday in Edmonton, had been practicing shootouts the past couple of days.

"If you look at the three (Canucks) shots, there was no luck there," Theodore said. "My timing was good. I get pretty comfortable when we get in shootouts."

Coach Joel Quenneville was impressed with Theodore.

"I liked his positioning," he said.

"He was very confident, very patient. He challenged and was very composed. I thought he did an outstanding job."

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic reached three milestones by scoring two goals, the second of which tied the score 4-4 on a power play at 10:37 of the third period.

When Sakic took a pass from Andrew Brunette in the lower portion of the left faceoff circle and fired the puck past Luongo, it tied him with Dino Ciccarelli for 15th place on the all-time goals list, with 608, and for ninth place on the all-time points list with Ray Bourque, at 1,579.

Sakic also became the fifth player in NHL history to collect 90 points in a season at age 37 or older.

McLean's second regulation goal of the game, his career-high 14th this season, drew the Avalanche to 4-3 at 18:11 of the second period.

McLean, who had gone six games without a goal before he scored late in the first period, exited the penalty box after the Avalanche killed off his slashing infraction, took a pass from Ken Klee and beat Luongo on a breakaway.

"We got the two points and it's just a great feeling," said Mc- Lean, who beat Luongo to the glove side in the shootout. "I was just lucky to get the puck by him. I just noticed there was an opening and I just shot it.

"We're playing catch-up (with Calgary) right now but, hopefully, we can keep the pressure on them and get some help along the way."

The Canucks had grabbed a 4- 2 lead on Taylor Pyatt's second goal of the game, at 12:22. Pyatt was between the circles when he one-timed Daniel Sedin's pass behind Theodore, who replaced Budaj (three goals, 13 shots) in the first period.

The Canucks took a 3-2 lead in the first period when they chased Budaj, who was replaced by Theodore at 17:47 after allowing two goals in a span of 75 seconds.

Daniel Sedin was credited with his 33rd goal, on a power play at 16:32, when Avalanche penalty killer Brad Richardson inadvertently redirected Sedin's shot behind a sprawling Budaj with Scott Parker in the box for hooking.

When Jeff Cowan scored from the base of the left circle at 17:47, Budaj was given the hook.

The Avalanche responded 16 seconds later with a goal when McLean took a long shot from near the boards that skimmed between Luongo's pads.

Theodore previously played Feb. 25 in Anaheim when he faced 41 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Ducks. His last win came Feb. 6 in a 5-4 overtime decision against Florida.

Colorado......2	1	1	0	-	5
Vancouver......3	1	0	0	-	4

Colorado won shootout 1-0

First period - 1, Van, Pyatt 19 (D.Sedin, H.Sedin), 9:19. 2, Col, Sakic 33 (Brunette, Svatos), 12:22. 3, Van, D.Sedin 33 (H.Sedin, Linden), 16:32 (pp). 4, Van, Cowan 7 (Cooke, Morrison), 17:47. 5, Col, McLean 13, 18:03. Penalties - Laperriere, Col, major (fighting), 1:59; Cowan, Van, major (fighting), 1:59; Richardson, Col, (slashing), 9:53; Parker, Col, (hooking), 15:48.

Second period - 6, Van, Pyatt 20 (D.Sedin, H.Sedin), 12:22. 7, Col, McLean 14 (Klee), 18:11. Penalties - Krajicek, Van (cross-checking), 1:57; Luongo, Van, served by Pyatt (tripping), 5:02; McLean, Col, (slashing), 16:02; Krajicek, Van (holding), 19:42.

Third period - 8, Col, Sakic 34 (Brunette, Hejduk), 10:37 (pp). Penalties - Bulis, Van (hooking), 9:08; Krajicek, Van (tripping), 11:40.

Overtime - None. Penalties - None.

Shootout - Col 1 (McLean G, Hejduk NG); Van 0 (Linden NG, Morrison NG, D.Sedin NG).

Shots - Col 8-12-9-1 - 30. Van 13-2-2-3 - 20. Power plays - Col 1 of 5; Van 1 of 3. Goalies - Col, Budaj (13 shots-10 saves), Theodore 12-14-1 (17:47 first, 7-6). Van, Luongo 43-20-6 (30-26). A - 18,630 (18,630). T - 2:34. Referees - Greg Kimmerly, Don Koharski. Linesmen - Derek Nansen, Jay Sharrers.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com Avalanche 5, Canucks 4 Shootout

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