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Nov 17, 2009 - 3:27 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Colorado (12-5-3) at Calgary (12-4-2), 9:30 p.m. EDT

Nearly three weeks ago, the Colorado Avalanche extended their Northwest Division lead to seven points after beating the Calgary Flames.

A rough seven-game stretch by the Avalanche combined with a Calgary surge has caused that advantage to shrink to the slimmest of margins.

Colorado tries to halt its longest losing streak of the season Tuesday night when it visits red-hot Calgary.

The Avalanche (12-5-3) got off to a impressive 10-1-2 start. They capped that stretch with a 3-2 win at second-place Calgary on Oct. 28, extending their division lead to seven points.

Things haven't gone nearly as well for the Avs since. Colorado has gone 2-4-1 while the Flames posted a 5-1-1 record to climb within a point of the division lead.

The Avalanche lost their third game in a row Saturday, falling behind by three goals in the opening 10:59 of an 8-2 defeat to Vancouver.

"They outworked us in all aspects of the game," Colorado center Paul Stastny said. "We have to be ready to play and we weren't and it showed. From top to bottom, we have to be better.

"Sometimes, it's a mental game. You can make mental mistakes when you don't know where you're going and boom, boom, boom, it's one, two, three to nothing and that's tough to come back from."

In the last meeting with Calgary, the Avalanche fell behind by two goals in the first 70 seconds, but rallied to tie the game midway through the first period before Stastny set up Wojtek Wolski for the go-ahead score early in the third.

Stastny has five assists in seven games since, but they all came in two contests. He had four goals and nine assists in the previous 13 games, and his 14 assists and 18 points overall lead Colorado.

The Flames have a chance to regain the division lead for the first time since owning a share of it with the Avalanche on Oct. 13.

Despite losing the last matchup at Pengrowth Saddledome last month, they're 11-3-2 at home against Colorado since the lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season.

Jarome Iginla scored two goals Saturday as Calgary beat Toronto 5-2, but Miikka Kiprusoff had to make 38 saves and coach Brent Sutter wasn't happy with his club's effort.

"Yeah, I'm (upset)," Sutter said. "I wasn't pleased at all (Saturday). The positives here (against the Maple Leafs) is that we got two points, our goaltender played very well, the captain scored two goals and we got a goal on our power play.

"Other than that, it's wasn't a great game on our behalf. We were fortunate to get a win."

Kiprusoff and Iginla have been key in helping the Flames close the gap on Colorado.

The goaltender is 4-0-1 with a 0.97 goals-against average and a shutout in the last five games. However, he had perhaps his worst performance of the season against the Avalanche, allowing three goals on 14 shots.

Despite that poor outing, Kiprusoff is 11-3-2 with a 2.44 GAA and two shutouts in his last 16 home games against Colorado.

Iginla has also been hot of late, scoring seven goals in the last six games to give him a team-leading 11 on the season.

The five-time All-Star right wing's 63 points in 72 games against the Avalanche are his most against any opponent. He's netted three goals in the last four meetings at home, including one after just 55 seconds of play Oct. 28.