Red Wings Face Off At Home Against Avalanche

Tonight is the second of four games between the Detroit Red Wings (32-8-3) and the Colorado Avalanche (22-16-3) this season. In their meeting on December 27th, the Wings skated to a 4-2 win in Denver. The teams will face off twice in February to round out the season series. Tonight’s game is on Versus at 7:30 ET.

Since losing to the Wings late last month, the Avs have posted a 1-2-1 record. On December 29th, they lost 3-1 to the Kings and two nights later, they lost 4-3 in a shootout to Phoenix. On January 2nd, they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Coyotes and hit a low point. They rebounded, however, and snapped that skid in their last game with a 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders on Saturday. They are in 8th place in the Western Conference, just two points ahead of St. Louis, who are hosting Columbus tonight.

The Avs are without two of their top stars, Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth. Sakic has been out since November 30th and underwent hernia surgery on December 28th. He’ll be out another 2-3 months. Smyth broke his ankle during the team’s December 31st loss to Phoenix and will be out eight weeks or so. Colorado is also without Tyler Arnason (wrist) and Kurt Sauer (neck).

Paul Stastny leads the team in points with 44, while Milan Hejduk is second with 30. Marek Svatos is the leading goal scorer, with 16, while Stastny and Hejduk both have 15. Wojtek Wolski is the only other healthhy Colorado player with 10 or more goals.

According to Terry Frei, Jose Theodore will start tonight for Colorado.

For the Avs’ perspective, see Colorado Avalanche Talk, In the Cheap Seats, Jibblescribbits, and Mile High Hockey.

The Wings are 4-1 since their win in Denver last month.  Their only loss came New Year’s Eve to St. Louis. They beat the Coyotes on December 29th (4-2), the Stars on January 2nd (4-1) and 5th (3-0), and the Blackhawks on the 6th (3-1). They are currently first overall.

Kirk Maltby (back strain) and Tomas Holmstrom (knee bruise) will both return to the lineup tonight at the expense of Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey. a

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