Flames vs. Avalanche

                                                                                         

Calgary -150 vs. Colorado

The Colorado Avalanche have been winning lately, while their division rival, the Calgary Flames have gone south lately. The two teams will begin a home-and-home series tonight as they first meet on in Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary.

Colorado (8-8-0) looks for their fourth straight victory tonight against a rival that has consistently beat them recently. The Flames (9-8-1) have won five of the last five of the last seven against the Avalanche, including the first two games played between the two this season, 5-4 and 3-0. Both games were played in the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The three game winning streak has done enough to make Colorado feel better about themselves, but has done nothing to lift them from the cellar of the Northwest Division. The three game winning streak has been offset by the five game losing streak which preceded it. Sweeping the home-and-home with Calgary would lift Colorado out of last place and would leapfrog the Flames as the teams are only separated by three points.

The last time out, on Saturday, the Avalanche's Darcy Tucker scored the tying goal with 10 seconds left in regulation and also netted the shootout winner in the fifth round to earn Colorado a 3-2 win.

The Flames will hope to bounce back against the Avalanche after they were humbled by the NHL's best team, San Jose last Thursday night. Calgary has had nearly a week to absorb the 6-1 loss, which gave the Flames their fifth loss in seven games. This is especially dispiriting for the Flames as they were coming off a six-game winning streak prior to their losing ways.

Aging veteran Joe Sakic's return is unclear as he has missed the last two games because of a strained back. Sakic has contributed 12 points to his team this season, putting him third on the Avalanche.

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