Avalanche one win away from trip to Cup finals

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Colorado Avalanche bounced back after squandering a three-goal lead, and need just one more victory for their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in five years.

Stephane Yelle, who missed a chance to win Game 3 in overtime when he had an empty net and hit the goal post, scored on a deflection at 4:23 of overtime for a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

The Avalanche have a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals and can wrap it up in Game 5 Monday in Denver. Yelle, who scored his first goal of the playoffs, is one of six players remaining from the 1996 Cup-winning team.

"I can't remember the last time I had a game-winner in overtime," Yelle said. "It feels good, it feels really good."

Yelle redirected a shot by Rob Blake past Roman Turek, who had recovered nicely after allowing goals on three consecutive shots in a 1:18 span midway through the first period. It was Yelle's first goal of the playoffs.

"When you have a 3-0 lead and let it vanish, that's an opportunity gone bad," Blake said. "You have to make sure you get that game somehow."

The Blues last overcame a 3-1 series deficit in the first round of the 1999 playoffs, rallying to beat Phoenix. They also escaped that hole in the first round of the 1991 playoffs against Detroit.

"It's not the position we want to be in," said Jamal Mayers, who forced overtime for the second straight game. "Hockey is a funny game.

"That's the way it goes sometimes, and we're just going to have to be ready to play Monday."

Joe Sakic, scoreless in Games 2 and 3, had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Steven Reinprecht and Ray Bourque also scored for Colorado, which is 5-2 on the road in the playoffs. The Avalanche had been 0-3 in overtime in the postseason.

Pierre Turgeon had two goals and Mayers forced overtime for the second straight game for the Blues, who rallied against Patrick Roy. The Blues won 4-3 in double overtime in Game 3 on a goal by Scott Young.

Mayers tied it on the Blues' first shot of the third. Stationed just outside the crease, he tapped a setup from behind the net by Jochen Hecht just inside the far post at 58 seconds.

Turek, who has allowed seven first-period goals in the series, was briefly pulled after allowing three goals on three shots in the first. The flurry stunned a sellout crowd of 20,072, the Blues' largest of the season.

"When I came to the bench, the coach told me to stay a minute," Turek said. "They scored a quick three goals. But it's not over being down 3-0 after the first period."

Reinprecht began the onslaught with a backhander at 14:13, the result of hard work around the net by the Avalanche's checking line. Sakic caught the Blues out of position at 15:17, camping at the blue line for a pass from Alex Tanguay and scoring from the left circle at 15:17.

Bourque made it 3-0 with a drive from the line 14 seconds later on Colorado's seventh shot of the period.

Rookie Brent Johnson made his first appearance of the playoffs, but it was brief. Coach Joel Quenneville put Turek back in at the next stoppage in play 1:23 later.

The Avalanche didn't try to sit on the lead, and two second-period goals by Turgeon put the Blues right back in it.

Pascal Rheaume, playing on the first line for the second straight game after spending almost the entire season at Worcester of the AHL, set up the first goal when he carried the puck to the net. He passed at the last second to Turgeon, who scored into a wide-open net at 4:40.

Turgeon got his fifth goal of the playoffs at 9:24, finishing off the play after Mayers crashed the net and Roy stopped Keith Tkachuk's drive from close range.

Notes: The Avalanche scored three goals in 38 seconds in Game 4 of a sweep of Vancouver on April 18.