Colorado Avalanche

Ben Guite, Chris Stewart and Marek Svatos each lit the lamp as well for the Avalanche, who had won three in a row before their slide. Tyler Arnason ended with three helpers in the win. Colorado plays the first of back-to-back home games tonight and is 17-15-0 at the Pepsi Center this season.

In addition to winning four in a row, the Canucks have also won come out on top in eight of nine and 12 of their last 14 contests. Vancouver is eight points behind Calgary for first place in the Northwest Division and with 76 points is the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

Milan Hejduk, Ryan Smyth, Ben Guite, Chris Stewart and Marek Svatos each lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who also snapped a five-game skid on the road. Chicago, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2001-02, is still fourth in the Western Conference with 81 points on the season.

The Avalanche, who are last in the West with 57 points, have lost their last six games and were handed a 3-2 loss Wednesday against visiting Detroit. Kris Draper scored the eventual game-winner late in the second to help lead the Red Wings to victory at the Pepsi Center.

The Islanders are last in the NHL with just 49 points on the season and have all but been eliminated from the postseason. Phoenix is last in the Pacific Division and second from the bottom in the Western Conference, but is still only nine points out of a postseason berth.

The Avalanche, who were swept in four regular-season games by the Wings last year, have still lost eight of their last 10 at home versus Detroit...The Avs moved to 17-15-0 at the Pepsi Center this year while the Red Wings improved to 19-10-5 on the road.

A pair of first-place clubs will meet today in Newark as the struggling San Jose Sharks visit the New Jersey Devils for an interconference battle at the Prudential Center. However, the slump has helped Detroit cut into San Jose's Western Conference lead, as the Red Wings are now just two po...

In only his second career start, Dan LaCosta used 31 saves to record his first shutout and lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Nationwide Arena. Peter Budaj allowed three goals on 30 shots for the struggling Avalanche, who have lost two straight and six...

The Sharks lead the NHL and the Western Conference with 69 points and hold the top spot in the Pacific Division by 20 points over Anaheim. The Flames will now try to take their success on the road, where they have won three of their last four and are 10-8-1 this season. Calgary owns a seven- point...

Devin Setoguchi and Brad Staubitz also scored for the Sharks, who are 18 points ahead of second-place Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead. Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves to earn the victory, while Setoguchi added two assists. With the win, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was named the head...

The Sharks, meanwhile, are tied for the NHL lead with 58 points and are 23 points ahead of Dallas for first place in the Pacific. However, the Stars did get the better of San Jose in the playoffs last year as Dallas eliminated the Sharks in six games during the Western Conference semifinals.

One of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL will be renewed tonight as the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Colorado Avalanche for a battle at Joe Louis Arena.The Red Wings and Avalanche rivalry is one that was made in the playoffs. Since 1996, the clubs have split six postseason series and faced of...