Ducks at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche will be seeking to win consecutive home games for the first time this season when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Colorado has been off for five days since topping the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime to end a 10-game slide at home (0-9-1) with its first victory at Pepsi Center since Nov. 15.
The Avalanche own the fewest points in the league, largely due to their NHL-worst 5-13-1 record at home. "It's tough to get out of a streak when you're losing every game at home," coach Jared Bednar said after Friday's win. "We weren't playing with a whole lot of confidence. Hopefully this builds some of that and we can string some wins together. It's been a long time, it's been tough." Anaheim is coming off a strong five-game homestand, finishing 4-1-0 with Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Dallas. The Ducks have lost three of the last four in the series, including a pair of 3-0 shutouts last season.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Prime Ticket (Anaheim), Altitude2 (Colorado)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (22-13-8): Jakob Silfverberg had a hand in both goals against Dallas, scoring the opening tally on the power play before setting up Andrew Cogliano. Silfverberg now has 12 goals and 16 assists and is 11 points shy of matching his career high. "He's on another level right now," Cogliano said ]. "I've always thought he was one of the most underrated in the league. When you play with him, you appreciate him more about what he does. ... When he's playing well, he's usually the best player on the ice."
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (13-25-1): Colorado ranks last in the league in scoring and last in goals allowed, a simple recipe for its current standing as the NHL's worst team. Calvin Pickard was in net during a five-game losing streak in which the Avalanche surrendered 23 goals, but he came up big with 35 saves against the Islanders for only his second win since Dec. 8. The penalty-kill unit also is struggling, having permitted seven goals in 20 man-advantage chances over the past four games.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (lower body), sidelined for the past four games, practiced fully Tuesday for the first time since he was hurt.
2. Colorado is 5-0 in overtime this season.
3. Anaheim acquired G Jhonas Enroth from Toronto on Tuesday.