NEW YORK — Two shots in 19 seconds was all it took to end one losing streak and create another.

Colorado captain Joe Sakic scored twice in a 19-second span to give the Avalanche a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night. Sakic's power-play goal and penalty-shot winner snapped the Avalanche's three-game skid and gave New York its first losing streak at home.

"We needed a win in the worst way and we felt the last three games were games we had to get something out of and didn't," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was nice to get these two points."

New York held Colorado — the second-highest scoring team in the Western Conference — to 17 shots. But the Rangers could muster only one goal against rookie goalie Vitaly Kolesnik.

That after four days off, and against a visiting opponent that played and lost the night before.

"You could say it if you want to use that excuse," Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr said. "We lost the hockey game. We didn't play well enough to win it. We didn't deserve to win it."

In other NHL games, Florida won 3-2 over Washington, Dallas defeated Chicago 5-3 and Anaheim won 5-4 over San Jose.

The Avalanche, perennial Stanley Cup contenders, have won only three times in eight games. They sit only in front of Minnesota in the Northwest Division 33 games into the 82-game schedule.