That's SIR Lady Byng to you

Sir Lady Byng, I am in your debt. Super Joe Sakic once again proved unstoppable for the Avalanche in last night’s playoff opener against the Minnesota Wild. His goal 11 minutes into the first overtime period gave the Avs a 3-2 victory for a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 series and a key win on the Wild’s home ice. Though the Avs took an impressive 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Kurt Sauer and Ryan Smyth, they squandered it in the first 6 minutes of the third period. The first goal was just unlucky as a pass from the corner deflected off defensemen Jeff Finger’s skate and past an unsuspecting Jose Theodore. The other came on a Wild power play as the four Avalanche on the ice somehow got pulled up towards the blue line, leaving Todd Fedoruk, known more for his fighting than his finesse, alone in front as he deked Theodore and shoved a backhand past the sprawling goaltender. A penalty shot awarded to our $31 million man Ryan Smyth with 3 minutes to play in regulation could have sent the Avs home with a victory, but his attempt was thwarted by Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, leaving Avs fans presuming the worst was about to happen and Theodore would subsequently revert to his sieve-like form as we changed the channel wondering what could have been. Instead, Theodore came up huge in overtime, snuffing out numerous chances until o Captain my Captain saved the day once again. Game 2 is Friday night as the Avs look to head back to the Rocky Mountains with a sizable 2 game advantage.