"I mean, they could've ended it so many times - not only in overtime, but in the third. He kept us in and gave us a chance."

Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday, it was: Carolina 2, Montreal 1; Buffalo 3, Philadelphia 0; San Jose 2, Nashville 1.

At Dallas, the Stars outshot Colorado 11-4 in overtime, including seven shots during the extra session's only power play. But Dallas couldn't beat Theodore.

Two days after the Stars avoided a sweep with a 4-1 victory, Theodore stopped 50 shots to end the series.

"I told (everyone), Theo's going to come back with a huge game. And he did," said Jim Dowd, who added a goal for the Avs. "He basically stole that game for us, especially in the overtime."

Dowd saw how Theodore bounced back from losses when they teammates in Montreal, which sent the former NHL MVP to Colorado at the trade deadline March 8.

After the game ended, Turco stood motionless in his net for several minutes, staring down at the ice. He stopped 27 shots, including Sakic's before Brunette got the rebound, but lost a series in five games to Colorado in his second straight postseason.

"I did everything I could to get there, but he got it up," Turco said. "I gave it a chance with everything I had, but it wasn't enough."

The Avalanche won their third overtime game in the series, advancing to the second round for the eighth time in 10 playoff appearances.

Colorado got Theodore for David Aebischer, the goalie who beat the Stars in the 2004 playoffs. Theodore was recovering from a fractured right heel when he arrived, then was 1-3-1 down the stretch.

"It didn't take long until I felt comfortable," Theodore said. "But obviously until you get a couple of games in and they see that you're really committed and you really want to win, that's the main thing."

Theodore is the second high-profile goaltender that has been sent from Montreal to Colorado. The other was Patrick Roy, who became the winningest goalie in NHL history with Colorado and won two more Stanley Cups after being acquired during the 1995-'96 season.

Mike Modano, the Stars captain, had to be helped off the ice midway through the third when he took a hard hit to his head when he was charged by Brett Clark. No penalty was called.

Modano came back for overtime, drawing huge cheers when he was shown on the bench. His return to the ice was met by a standing, towel-twirling ovation, but couldn't save the Stars.