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Islanders-Avalanche Preview

Jan 5, 2010 - 6:33 PM By PAUL DIGIACOMO STATS Senior Editor

New York (17-18-8) at Colorado (24-13-6), 9:00 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Avalanche are finding ways to win even when they aren't playing their best. A home matchup with the New York Islanders usually results in a victory for Colorado.

The Avalanche look to continue their success against the Islanders in Denver when the teams meet for the only time this season Wednesday night.

Colorado (24-13-6) has won nine of 13 but didn't looked sharp in three of its last four victories. The Avs took a 3-0 lead over Minnesota on Dec. 21 and held on to win 4-3, getting the winning goal after the puck took a weird bounce off the boards and enabled Matt Hendricks to score short-handed.

They nearly blew another three-goal lead Dec. 30 at Ottawa before earning a 4-3 victory. In its last game Sunday, Colorado won 3-2 at Columbus on T.J. Galiardi's goal off a rebound with 57.8 seconds left.

"Our first period was OK, after that we got our skating and legs," first-year coach Joe Sacco said. "We really sustained the level of pressure that we wanted to against them. We stuck with it right to the end. We found a way to get that last goal."

Colorado has 54 points after 43 games, one season after finishing with a Western Conference-low 69 points. Rookie center Ryan O'Reilly, though, knows the Avs need to shore up their play.

"(Letting teams) right back into it has been a tendency for us lately, but we are young and we have the leadership and we're changing that," he said. "In order for us to be successful down the road, that's something we have to do."

The Avs have been dominant at home against the Islanders (17-18-8) since moving to Colorado for the 1995-96 season, going 7-1-0 with a tie. New York's lone win in Denver came in November 1999.

The Islanders, opening a three-game trip, played past regulation in three straight and four of their last five contests. New York's last three games went to shootouts, with the Isles winning twice.

After taking a three-goal lead three times Sunday, the Islanders allowed Atlanta to tie it in the third period before posting a 6-5 shootout victory.

"It shows a lot about our character," forward Josh Bailey said. "We managed to bounce back and find a way to win. It's tough to keep that pressure and keep going but we were able to get the two points."

New York, one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, scored five or more goals in regulation for just the third time.

Rookie center John Tavares didn't notch one of those goals, extending his slump. Tavares has recorded one point, a goal against Toronto on Dec. 23, in his last 11 games. He is tied with Matt Moulson for the team lead with 16 goals and 28 points.

Wednesday's game features Tavares, the top overall pick in the 2009 draft, and Colorado center Matt Duchene, who was taken with the third selection.

"During the draft and the NHL combine we roomed together," Duchene told the Avs' official Web site. "We spent a lot of time together during that process, doing a lot of interviews and other things. We became pretty good friends and it was good to get to know him."

Duchene has 11 goals and 16 assists, with eight goals and nine assists coming in the last 18 games.