DENVER — A few minutes after David Aebischer ended his first night as the No. 1 goalie of the Colorado Avalanche with a period and a half of duty, the scoreboard video hanging over the ice verified his new job title.

Instead of a Patrick Roy montage, it was Aebischer making the highlight saves. It was also him down on the ice making 16 saves Thursday night during his first attempt at replacing one of the best of all time. It was just the first preseason game of the year, but Aebischer looked sharp in the short time he was in during the Avs' 2-2 tie with the Dallas Stars. He didn't allow a goal in his first 31:35 of Pepsi Center ice time in his higher profile job.

"I'm very happy. I thought it went well," said Aebischer, who was the backup before Roy's retirement last May. "My shoulders were square to the shooters almost all the time, so I'm happy."

Aebischer played well in his debut as the starter. So did Phil Sauve, just not as well. The youngster and possible threat to Aebischer's designation allowed two goals in the third period after the Avs held a 1-0 lead. Peter Turgeon scored with 17:20 left in the game, while Stu Barnes scored almost two minutes later to give his team a 2-1 lead.

"You're going to get scored on," second-year Avs coach Tony Granato said. "Turgeon is a great player and Barnes made a great play."

With Aebischer stopping shots, the Avs offense was able to take hold. A new high-octane look was expected with the additions of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, but neither scored the opening goal. It was Chris McAllister who finished a pass from Dan Hinote late in the first period.

Just before McAllister's goal, Aebischer made his best save of the night. Dallas' Rob DiMaio stole the puck at the centerline and took off for a one-on-one. Aebischer didn't bite on a move by DiMaio and won the battle to preserve the personal shutout.

"These are important games and we need more like that," Aebischer said. "I haven't played in a long time and it's good to play again."

Aebischer is the unquestioned No. 1 and will be that once the real games start. But Granato said the pair would split during Saturday's 7 p.m. game against Florida at the new Budweiser Events Center in Windsor. That may happen a few more times in the preseason, but Aebischer will see more full games as the regular season gets closer.

It didn't take long for Kariya to show why Avs fans expect more offense. While Selanne sat out the game, Kariya scored the game-tying goal with just under seven minutes gone in the third period. He got the assist from Joe Sakic. It's common connection the team is hoping see a lot this year.

"It's a great group. Now we just need to gel as a team," said Kariya, who won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in his last NHL game. "On the ice, it's just a matter of trying to improve and get better."

Sakic nearly won the game twice. With just a few minutes left in regulation, he barley missed finishing a pass from Peter Forsberg. Then with less than 20 seconds left in overtime, he missed again from nearly the same spot. They were mistakes that showed rust, which is why Granato isn't too worried about mistakes in the third week of September.

"I like my chances if Joe gets those chances in the regular season," he said.

Avalanche 2, Stars 2 Dallas0 2 0 0—2 Colorado1 1 0 0—2

First Period — 1, Colorado, McAllister 1 (Hinote), 16:35.

Second Period — None.

Third Period — 2, Dallas, Turgeon 1 (Barnes, Young), 2:40. 3, Dallas, Barnes 1 (Turgeon, Berenzweig), 4:54. 4, Colorado, Kariya 1 (Sakic), 7:07 (sh).

Overtime — None.

Shots on goal — Dallas 7-13-14-4—38. Colorado 7-9-12-2—30. Goalies—Dallas, Ellis, Bacashihua. Colorado, Aebischer, Sauve. A—18,007.