Thu Mar 6 10:48:25 2008

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Fine flock: Ducks battle Avalanche

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(Sports Network) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to get back on the right track tonight, as they visit the Colorado Avalanche in a battle between playoff contenders at the Pepsi Center.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks had won six straight and 11 of 12 games before getting shut out in Chicago on Wednesday evening. Anaheim was trying to match its franchise record with a seventh consecutive victory.

The Ducks have 83 points on the year and are fifth in the Western Conference standings, just one point behind San Jose for the fourth seed. Anaheim is also only four points behind Dallas for first place in the Pacific Division and the second seed in the West.

Anaheim was blanked 3-0 by the Blackhawks at the United Center, as rookie Corey Crawford stopped 19 shots to earn a shutout for his first career victory in his second NHL start. Dustin Byfuglien and Cam Barker each had a goal and an assist to lead the Blackhawks on offense.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves for Anaheim, which fell back to third in the division later on Wednesday, a point behind the Sharks, when San Jose defeated Ottawa, 3-2, in overtime.

Anaheim is just 16-16-3 as the visiting club this year, but had won five straight on the road until the setback in Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche have won four consecutive games and welcomed Peter Forsberg back to Denver in their most recent victory.

Forsberg saw his first action of the year in Tuesday's win over visiting Vancouver after signing a one-year contract on February 25 to play with Colorado through the rest of this season.

The 34-year-old Forsberg spent the first nine years of his career with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, and is fourth on the club's all-time scoring list with 741 points on 216 goals and 525 assists.

The Swedish centerman registered three shots on goal and logged 19:57 of ice time against the Canucks.

John-Michael Liles' third-period goal proved to be the game-winner on Tuesday, as the Avalanche edged Vancouver, 2-1, at the Pepsi Center.

Paul Stastny also tallied for the Avalanche, who have matched their season- high winning streak from October 23-November 1. Andrew Brunette collected two assists, while Jose Theodore stopped 26-of-27 shots to pick up his 20th win of the season.

On the injury front, the Avs received bad news on their leading goal-scorer Marek Svatos, who will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in Saturday's home win over Los Angeles. Svatos had 26 goals and 37 points on the season.

Winger Ryan Smyth, who has 14 goals and 19 assists this season, is also out indefinitely after getting knocked out of Saturday's game with a concussion and a shoulder injury.

Colorado has 76 points on the season and is currently tied with Nashville for the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Avs are also just three points behind Minnesota and Calgary for first place in the Northeast Division.

Tonight's test marks the third segment of a four-game homestand for Colorado, which is 20-11-2 as the hosts this year. The Avs will close out the residency Saturday against Dallas in the opener of a home-and-home series.

The Ducks are 3-0 against Colorado this season and have won four straight in the series, but the Avs have still taken six of 11 and seven of the last 13 encounters.

Anaheim had lost six in a row at the Pepsi Center before winning in Denver on February 12.