 Sakic led the Avalanche in scoring again in the 2001 – 02 season , finishing sixth in the league with 79 points . On March 9 , 2002 , he played in his 1,000th career game . The Avalanche once again reached the Western Conference Finals , but lost to the eventual Cup @-@ winning Detroit Red Wings . The following year , Sakic appeared in only 58 games and finished with just 58 points . He rebounded the following year , finishing third in the league with 87 points . It also marked the first time since the 1993 – 94 season that his team did not win the division title , which was won by the Vancouver Canucks . 
