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Avs host red-hot Thrashers

Nov 30, 2010 - 4:15 PM (Sports Network) - The Avalanche got balanced scoring in their most recent victory, a good thing considering they lost their leading goal scorer in the process.

Colorado looks for another distribution of offense this evening as it attempts to snap the Atlanta Thrashers' five-game winning streak without forward Chris Stewart at the Pepsi Center.

The Avalanche set a single-game season high for goals on Saturday with a 7-4 home victory over the Wild. Greg Mauldin posted four points, including a pair of scores during a four-goal second period. He also finished with two assists, while defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal and two helpers to push his points streak to six games (4 goals, 5 assists), the longest by a rookie blueliner this season.

"Tonight was a lot of fun," Shattenkirk said. "Especially when we get goals in bunches. I'm really happy that Greg got those four points."

Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny and David Jones all added goals and Peter Budaj made 28 saves for the Avs, who snapped a two-game slide that had followed four straight victories. The club also picked up its fourth straight win at home.

Stewart, who leads Colorado with 11 goals in 23 games, sustained a broken left hand during a second-period fight with Minnesota's Kyle Brodziak. Stewart is also second on the club with 25 points, but will be out of action for four-to- six weeks.

Daniel Winnik suffered a leg contusion in the game after getting hit by a puck in the first period, but should play tonight despite not practicing on Monday. However, defenseman Adam Foote will likely miss a third straight game with a leg injury of his own and goaltender Craig Anderson remains out with a groin aliment.

Even if Stewart could play, goals might still be hard to come by. Atlanta has outscored its opponents, 19-3, over its five-game win streak, the club's longest since a six-game run from March 6-16, 2009.

Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and three assists in Sunday's 4-1 triumph over Boston, while Ondrej Pavelec made a season-high 40 saves. Atlanta won the final five games of a recent homestand after suffering a loss to Florida in the residency's opener on Nov. 17.

"It's going well so far for myself, but it all happens because of good teammates and good teamwork," Byfuglien admitted. "When you have players you feel comfortable with, things just tend to click. It means the team is doing something right, starting from our goalie to our defense and up to our forwards."

Byfuglien matched a personal best with four points and has posted four goals and nine points over a career-high five-game point streak. Pavelec has yielded one goal or less in each game of Atlanta's win streak and has appeared in 12 straight games for the Thrashers, including six straight starts.

Pavelec was named the NHL's First Star of the week on Monday, while Byfuglien was named the Second Star.

Atlanta was try to carry its momentum onto the road, where it plays three straight and six of its next eight but is just 4-4-2 this season.

The Thrashers had won two straight overall and three in a row at Denver prior to a 4-3 overtime setback at the Pepsi Center in the only meeting between the clubs last season. Atlanta still has four wins and a tie in its last seven versus Colorado.

Budaj is 0-3-0 with a 3.05 goals-against average in his career versus the Thrashers, while Pavelec has never faced the Avs.