Forsberg's goal helps Colorado Avalanche oust Detroit Red Wings

DENVER (AP) -- So much for depth perception.

The Detroit Red Wings were supposed to have the superior depth, but it was the Colorado Avalanche that got goals from all four lines in the series clincher.

Peter Forsberg scored his fifth goal of the playoffs -- and his fourth game-winner -- to lead the Avalanche to a 4-2 victory Friday night, ousting the Red Wings from the NHL playoffs.

Colorado, claiming the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal 4-1, advanced to the conference finals against either Dallas or San Jose. Dallas leads that series 3-1 after a 5-4 victory Friday night, with Game 5 set for Dallas on Sunday night.

In the East, New Jersey is at Toronto tonight, while Pittsburgh visits Philadelphia on Sunday. Both series are tied 2-2.

It marked the second straight year Colorado ousted archrival Detroit in the second round. Since moving from Quebec in 1995, the Avalanche are 4-0 in second-round series.

''Sometimes you score a bunch of goals and never get a game-winner,'' Forsberg said, ''so I'll take it.''

Forsberg's first game-winner came in the clinching game of the first-round series against Phoenix. His other three came in each of Colorado's home games in this series.

''It has been a bad season for me,'' Forsberg said, referring to injuries during the regular season. ''I've been looking forward to the playoffs. I wasn't feeling that great coming into the playoffs, but I'm playing better and better. Hopefully, we'll get a few days off now and go for the next round.''

In a duel of superstars, Forsberg was the clear winner over Detroit's Steve Yzerman, who failed to score in either a first-round sweep of Los Angeles or the Colorado series.

''You never enjoy losing,'' said Yzerman, who has 627 career regular-season goals. ''We were close, just not quite good enough. That is what is disappointing. We are frustrated because we played pretty hard and had a good effort. We just didn't get it done.

Colorado defenseman Adam Foote was on the ice for most of Yzerman's even-strength shifts in the series, and Detroit coach Scotty Bowman called Foote a ''smart, hard-nosed player. He had a big series. There wasn't much room on the ice.

''I think goals at the right time were what won this series for them. They were hard to come by. To win, we needed a low-scoring game and to limit their power plays as much as we could. We didn't do that.''

The Avalanche, who have won 16 of their last 18 games, won for the second straight game without veteran defenseman Ray Bourque, out with a knee injury sustained in Game 3. Since Bourque was acquired from Boston on March 6, Colorado has gone 20-4-1.

Forsberg's goal at 4:40 of the third period gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead. His 40-foot rocket sailed over Chris Osgood's shoulder.

Barely a minute later, Detroit's Brendan Shanahan made it 3-2, scoring after a deflection at 6:13.

Colorado's fourth line then produced an insurance goal at 9:01. Eric Messier kept the play alive by beating Nicklas Lidstrom to the puck to prevent an icing call, then passed to rookie Serge Aubin. Aubin's shot rebounded out front, where Shjon Podein tipped it in.

Colorado's Patrick Roy, extending his NHL record for playoff victories to 118, had 20 saves. Osgood had 21 saves.

Colorado's Bob Hartley, the first coach to beat Bowman in back-to-back playoff series, praised his goalie.

''Patrick has given us tons of big saves at key moments, and his confidence is contagious in the dressing room,'' Hartley said.

''I feel like I'm moving very well in the net,'' Roy said. ''It's probably the best I've felt all year.

''The guys in front of me have been very sharp, and I feel like we're playing really smart hockey. ... We're doing the small things that make the difference between winning and losing.''

Stars 5, Sharks 4

Joe Nieuwendyk had two goals, and Dallas added a pair of short-handed goals.

Guy Carbonneau and Sergei Zubov scored short-handed for Dallas, and Owen Nolan did the same for San Jose. Mike Modano got his team-high sixth playoff goal for the Stars, while Vincent Damphousse and Todd Harvey scored their first for San Jose, which also got Mike Ricci's fifth goal. Modano scored 1:08 into the game, stretching his career-high points streak to eight games.