(My Sportsbook) - After going winless in their first eight games at home, then falling 13 points back of the Vancouver Canucks on January 16, it looked as if the Colorado Avalanche's run towards an NHL-record ninth straight division title was going to come to a screeching halt.

Not so fast. Since a mid-January setback to the Detroit Red Wings, the Avs have gone a club-record 16 games without a regulation home loss (13-0-2-1) and on Monday pulled within two points of idle Vancouver for first place in the Northwest Division.

Milan Hejduk scored a pair of goals and added an assist, leading Colorado to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center. Peter Forsberg notched three assists for the Avalanche, who have won three straight and improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven.

The Avalanche are also three points ahead of St. Louis in the race for the fourth seed in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage in the opening- round of the playoffs.

"I think if we're going to have a realistic chance of catching them (Vancouver), they have to lose a point in Phoenix (on Wednesday)," Forsberg said. "I think they're going to beat LA (on Sunday) in their last game at home. We'll see what happens, but all we can do is concentrate and win our games."

Forsberg, who has two goals and 12 assists in his last six games, has 75 assists this season and 102 points. The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden native trails boyhood friend Markus Naslund of the Canucks by one point for the NHL scoring lead.

"I don't really care, as long as we keep winning," Forsberg added. "I don't really care about the individual stuff."

Hejduk, with five goals and four assists in his last six games, trails Naslund by one for the NHL goal scoring lead.

"I won't change my game," Hejduk added. "I'll try and play my game, play my best every night. If I score more goals, it happens. If not, it's OK. I'm just trying to have fun."

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR ROY

Patrick Roy made 22 saves in the victory and became the first goaltender to play 60,000 minutes.

The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer reached the mark at 10 minutes of the first period against the Sharks. He received a standing ovation and raised his stick to the crowd after the public address announcer acknowledged the achievement.

"It seems to me time has gone real fast," Roy said. "I still remember my first appearance in the NHL against Winnipeg and my first start against Pittsburgh. It seems like it was yesterday."

He has played 60,050 minutes, an NHL record, and also leads in career wins (549) and games played (1,026). His playing time equals almost 42 days, but insists that he has not decided on his future plans.

"I'm going to decide at the end of the year what I'm going to do," Roy said. "We'll see. Right now I'm having a good time and the team is winning. I'm playing real well and you don't want to think about anything else but performing."

WHAT'S AHEAD

The Avs will start a two-game road trip in Los Angeles on Wednesday that will also include a stop in Anaheim before wrapping up the regular season at home against St. Louis on Sunday.