NHL: Colorado 9, Vancouver 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 9 (UPI) -- Milan Hejduk posted his second career hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche routed the Vancouver Canucks, 9-2, in a fight-filled contest.

Vancouver lost Markus Naslund for three games after the captain was elbowed in the head by Colorado's Steve Moore Feb. 16. While last Wednesday's game concluded without incident, things were much different in this one.

Tough guys Peter Worrell and Brad May engaged in several battles and Matt Cooke went after Moore in a first period that saw Colorado record the fastest three goals in franchise history. But with the outcome already decided, things got extremely ugly in the third.

Skating in the neutral zone, Moore was punched from behind by Todd Bertuzzi, who then pushed the Avalanche rookie's face into the ice, knocking him unconscious, and rode him nearly 10 feet, leaving a trail of blood behind.

After several other fights broke out and a near confrontation among the goaltenders, Moore carefully was lifted onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

"I haven't seen something like that in my seven years playing," Avalanche defenseman Derek Morris said. "It's the worst thing I've seen."