Colorado Avalanche 1, San Jose Sharks 4 FINAL

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Now that Jonathan Cheechoo has everyone's attention, the hockey world finally might notice the San Jose Sharks. Another home playoff victory put the Colorado Avalanche on the run.

Patrick Marleau scored his NHL-leading seventh goal of the postseason, and Cheechoo scored a between-the-legs goal in the Sharks' 4-1 win over Colorado on Saturday in Game 2 of the second-round playoff series.

Marleau, Cheechoo and Vincent Damphousse each had a goal and an assist as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves despite getting flattened by Peter Forsberg, and Wayne Primeau added an empty-net goal to push the Sharks within two victories of the franchise's first trip to the conference finals.

Except for Cheechoo's highlight-reel goal, not much was flashy about the speedy, workmanlike Sharks _ but they headed to Game 3 in Denver on Monday with all the momentum.

``I think most hockey people know about us,'' said Marleau, who had a hat trick in the series opener. ``Maybe we don't get all the attention that some teams do, but we're just focused on our goals.''

The Sharks are still swimming under the international radar during the best season in franchise history. They don't have superstars, and they play on the West Coast in a warm-weather town with not much general interest in hockey.

But Cheechoo's goal will be a highlight-reel staple for the foreseeable future _ and everything else could change quickly if the Sharks build on their outstanding playoff start.

The Sharks recovered from an early deficit and led 2-1 entering the third period, but it was a tense game until Cheechoo, a 28-goal scorer in the regular season, surprised even himself.

During a power play, Brad Stuart took the puck low and made a slow pass in front to Cheechoo, who put his stick backward between his legs and flipped a shot past Aebischer's glove in one fluid motion. Coach Ron Wilson didn't believe his eyes until he checked the Sharks' replay monitor on the bench.

``I don't think I've ever even practiced that,'' Cheechoo said with a sheepish grin. ``I was just running out of options. Their sticks were in the way, in the way, in the way, and I had to try something.''

Niko Dimitrakos had two assists, including an exceptional pass to Marleau to set up the captain's goal in the final minute of the second period. Dimitrakos has five assists in the Sharks' two second-round games, both models of San Jose's relentless discipline, puck possession and strong defense.

Milan Hejduk scored for the Avalanche, who lost the first two games of a playoff series for the first time since the 1999 conference semifinals. David Aebischer improved on his subpar opening-game performance with 20 saves, but he had practically no chance to stop any of the Sharks' goals.

``We have to win Game 3. We have no choice,'' Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said. ``We get a little sloppy when things don't go our way, and we have to turn that around. They have the jump on us. We're getting outworked. They're playing with a lot more intensity than we are.''

The Avalanche lost their cool in Game 1, starting four fights in the final seconds of their 5-2 loss. They were vastly improved in the rematch, keeping their composure and taking an early lead when San Jose had a rare lapse in discipline, getting caught in a sloppy line change.

Nabokov was left defenseless, and Matthew Barnaby set up Hejduk's fourth goal of the postseason. But although Forsberg played his usual dominant game, the Avalanche couldn't score again _ and Forsberg's aggression also resulted in two key interference penalties in the second period.

``Sometimes you get the calls, but I'm not happy with the way we're playing,'' Forsberg said. ``We need to take care of things on our home ice. We definitely need to play better. They have outplayed us.''

Damphousse scored on the power play following Forsberg's first penalty of the period, and his apparent goal while running over Nabokov moments later was waved off. Forsberg complained bitterly on his way to the box.

Sakic also set up Cheechoo's goal with a boarding penalty in the third.