Sakic Leads Avalanche Past Penguins

Joe Sakic scored two goals--the second proving decisive at 3:56 of overtime--and had an assist as the Colorado Avalanche extended its unbeaten streak to five games with a 3-2 victory Monday night over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Denver.

Sakic extended his point-scoring streak to six games. He has five goals and eight assists over that span. His linemate, Milan Hejduk, added a goal, and Patrick Roy made 27 saves for the Avalanche--4-0-1 over the last five games.

Jaromir Jagr reached the 400-goal plateau by scoring twice. Included was the game-tying goal in the third period for the Penguins, whose unbeaten streak ended at five games.

Buffalo 3, Calgary 2--J.P. Dumont scored 1:29 into overtime as the Sabres defeated the Flames at Buffalo, N.Y., for their third consecutive victory.

Atlanta 4, Florida 1--Donald Audette and Andrew Brunette each had a goal and an assist in the second period at Sunrise, Fla., as the Thrashers defeated the Panthers.

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The Kings return to practice today after a rare two-day break and Coach Andy Murray is expected to be back in time for the 10 a.m. start after spending the last two days in Faribault, Minn., with his family.

Murray took a red-eye flight home after the Kings’ 2-2 tie against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday.

By the time they play the New York Islanders on Thursday at Staples Center, the Kings will have had five days off between games, a pattern which will repeat itself after Saturday’s game against Colorado.