It wouldn't be too surprising if the Colorado Avalanche were thinking ahead after taking a two games to none lead in their series against the San Jose Sharks.

The next Avalanche opponent would be the Detroit Red Wings. The much-despised Red Wings. The Red Wings who beat the Avs in the 1997 playoffs and ended Colorado's hope of creating a dynasty.

So after winning the first two games of the series against the Sharks, the Avalanche players might have had the color red on their minds. But the Avs got a rude wakeup call when the Sharks stormed back to tie the series at two games apiece.

Avalanche followers know their team has a habit of winning (and losing) the hard way. The Avs arguably have the most talent in the NHL, but are often labeled as underachievers. So when the Sharks tied the series by winning two games on Avalanche ice, many Colorado fans groaned and said, "here we go again."

But for once, the tragedy didn't happen. The Avalanche didn't blow it.

Theo Fleury by Meredith Martini

Instead, they responded from a 7-3 drubbing in Game 4 with a huge win of their own in Game 5. Claude Lemieux and Theo Fleury came alive to help out Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. Patrick Roy returned to his normal playoff-strong self. And the defense played a hell of a lot better than they did the game before.

And there was much rejoicing. For a day, at least.

When the series resumed in San Jose for Game 6, the worried looks came back because, once again, the Avs made things hard for themselves. The teams skated to a scoreless first period, but that was mostly due to the heroic goaltending of Roy, who fought off two San Jose power-play chances.

Fleury got the Avs on the board first in the second period with a slapper from the point. Colorado looked to be in control, but Bill Houlder tied it up not too long after that with a fluttering wrister that flipped over Roy's shoulder.

To make matters worse, Jeff Friesen gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead halfway through the third period with a shot from the slot.

Yes, my friends, the Avs got worry.

Things seemed to be falling apart. San Jose seemed to take control of the game at that point. But as quickly as the elation showed on Friesen's face, it disappeared just as fast. Friesen took a penalty on his next shift. The ensuing power play gave the Avalanche new life.

It was as if the Avs knew they had to score on that power play - or else a Game 7 was in order. Colorado didn't want to go to a Game 7. It would be played the next night, causing the teams to play four games in five nights. Had that happened and the Avalanche still win, they would have been an extremely tired club going into the next round of the playoffs...against the Red Wings, who would be fresh after an easy 4-0 sweep of the not-so-Mighty Ducks.

So the Avs had to make the most of this man-advantage. It was their chance to make things a lot easier on themselves. And for once, they came through.

Sandis Ozolinsh, who had played a less-than-spectacular game up until this point, let a blistering shot go that zipped past goaltender Mike Vernon, who was being screened by Fleury.

And there was much rejoicing.

Now the only thing the offensive powerhouse known as the Colorado Avalanche had to do was score one more goal.

Easier said than done.

There were no more goals scored in regulation. So the game went to overtime - another place the tired Avalanche didn't want to go. It was bad enough they had to go to an extra session, but to make things more difficult, Dale Hunter high-sticked a Sharks defenseman in the mouth. Hunter drew blood and was sent to the box for four minutes.

So here we were again. The Avs were making their lives difficult once again. Sure, LCS Hockey editor- in-chief Michael Dell will tell you the philosophy is called "making it fun," but it sure didn't look fun when Houlder's slap shot from the right point clanked off the post to the left of Roy. Houlder almost forced a Game 7 with that shot.

But the Avs were given a second chance. They made the most of it. Later in overtime Fleury corralled a puck and broke down left wing. He fired a pass across ice to a streaking Sakic, who fired a shot on goal. Vernon made the initial save, but rookie Milan Hejduk stood at the doorstep and poked home the rebound for his second overtime winner of his young career.

It wasn't easy. It wasn't the way they would have liked to have won it. But the Avalanche won.

Now, finally, they can start thinking about the Detroit Red Wings.

And oh what a series it will be. The two teams don't like each other. Some of the names have changed since the teams first developed their hatred, but the tradition has been passed down from one generation of Avalanche or Red Wing to another.

"It's cool to hate the Red Wings," an Avalanche player might tell Fleury, who missed out on all the fun and excitement the teams shared over the past couple years. "You ain't cool unless you hate Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby. You ain't cool unless you cross-check `em in the back of the head and then kick `em when they're down."

Don't you worry about Theo Fleury. He'll learn to hate the Red Wings. Lil' Theo wants to be cool. He wants to fit in. And before all is said and done, he might just be able to experience the thrill of beating an arch-nemesis in the postseason like the Detroit Red Wings.

But as all Colorado Avalanche fans know, and lil' Theo is finding out, the Avs aren't going to make it look easy.

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