Roy Blanks Stars

Colorado
Avalanche

"I see this club as focused as ever," Roy said. "Guys are sharp and we're doing whatever we need to be successful. The level of commitment is fantastic."

It was the 14th career playoff shutout for Roy, who is now tied second in the all-time list with Jacques Plante.

The Avs won their third straight game without Ray Bourque, who is recovering from a minor knee injury.

"I wouldn't be skating the way I am skating if it was anything more than that," Bourque said before the game. "Like I said, it is real close and it is going to happen soon. Hopefully it is Monday. We will take it day by day."

After a scoreless first period, the Avalanche scored both goals in the second period. Milan Hejduk scored a power-play goal at 8:51 and Aaron Miller got his first goal in the playoffs at 17:32 to finish scoring.

"The rebound came to me and I was on the side of the net and had an open net," Hejduk said. "It was a huge win for us, especially on the road. We started off this series with a good win."

The Stars' offense finally came alive in the third period outshooting the Avs 10-2, but Roy stonewalled Dallas' every attempt.

"They knew they didn't have to force the issue in the third," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "When you look at the faceoffs and when you look at some loose puck battles, I think those are two key areas that they beat us on tonight. We also couldn't get that many second opportunities."

Game 2 in on Monday at Dallas.