St. Paul, MN (Best E Casino) - Joe Sakic scored the game-winning goal 11:11 into the first overtime, as the Colorado Avalanche clipped the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series at the Xcel Energy Center.

In the extra session, Ruslan Salei fired a slap shot from the left point that hit Minnesota Wild defenseman Martin Skoula in front and went right to the stick of Sakic, who backhanded the puck past Niklas Backstrom.

Kurt Sauer and Ryan Smyth also tallied for the sixth-seeded Avalanche, while Sakic added an assist. Jose Theodore was stellar between the pipes, stopping 28-of-30 shots to earn the victory.

Mikko Koivu posted a goal and an assist for the third-seeded Wild, who got 19 saves from Backstrom. Todd Fedoruk also scored for Minnesota.

Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Friday night in Minnesota.

Trailing 2-0, the Wild responded with two goals in the third.

Minnesota got on the board when Koivu's centering feed from along the right wing boards deflected off the right skate of Jeff Finger in the slot and past a stunned Theodore at the 3:02 mark.

The Wild notched a power-play marker at 6:13 to tie the score at two. Petteri Nummelin dished down low to Fedoruk, who made a great move in front and backhanded the disc past a sliding Theodore.

The Avalanche had multiple chances to net the go-ahead goal down the stretch. A tally was waved off with 5:48 to play in regulation because the officials ruled that the puck had been kicked in. Then, with 2:27 left, Smyth was awarded a penalty shot after Minnesota defenseman Keith Carney closed his hand on the disc while it laid in the crease, but Backstrom made the save with the right pad.

Colorado was outshot 11-2 in the first period, but Theodore's heroics kept the game scoreless until the Sauer lit the lamp at the 1:29 mark of the middle stanza.

With the clubs skating 4-on-4, Sauer glided down the slot and chipped Sakic's feed up and over the glove of Backstrom.

The Avalanche then connected on the power play to grab a 2-0 lead. As Pierre- Marc Bouchard stewed in the penalty box, Smyth stationed himself in the low slot and tipped Finger's slap shot from the right point in behind Backstrom with 6:52 to play in the second.

Game Notes

This marks the third straight playoff meeting between these clubs that ended in overtime. Ironically, all three final scores were 3-2, with Minnesota winning the first two...Minnesota's Mark Parrish suffered a head injury in the second period after he was checked into the boards by Salei and did not return...The Wild finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while Colorado converted on its only chance with the man advantage.