• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sliding Avs visit red-hot Thrashers

Dec 10, 2010 - 4:23 PM (Sports Network) - The Colorado Avalanche have lost a handful of close games lately, but they'll get a chance to get back in the win column when they visit the surging Atlanta Thrashers tonight at Philips Arena.

The Avalanche have lost their last four contests, giving Colorado its worst losing streak of the season. Each of those setbacks have been decided by just one goal and three were decided in overtime.

Colorado last played on Tuesday and lost an overtime decision to Florida on the third stop on a five-game road trip. Stephen Weiss scored just 43 seconds into OT to give the Panthers the 4-3 decision at BankAtlantic Center.

John-Michael Liles, Matt Duchene and Daniel Winnik each had a goal for the Avalanche, while Craig Anderson made 21 saves in a losing effort. Colorado held leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in Tuesday's game, but couldn't bear down for the victory.

"It's tough when you score a goal and they come right back and score," said Colorado coach Joe Sacco. "When you score a goal you want to keep the momentum, but we failed to do that tonight."

Colorado hasn't dropped five in a row since an eight-game slide from Mar. 15- Apr. 1, 2009.

The Avalanche have lost five straight road games heading into tonight and are just 6-6-3 as the visiting team this year. Colorado will complete its current trek with tomorrow's test in Washington.

Atlanta, on the other hand, has won its last two games and has victories in eight of its last nine contests. The Thrashers last played on Monday, when they were able to outlast visiting Nashville for an overtime win.

Zach Bogosian netted the game-winner at the 2:11 mark of OT to push Atlanta past the Predators, 3-2. The decisive goal came when Ben Eager picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated it past the blue line. He found a wide open Bogosian on a cross-ice pass, and the defenseman was able to finish with a quick shot.

"It was a good heads up play by (Eager)," Bogosian said. "I thought he was going to dump it in there and I just screamed and he heard me. He just slid it over and I came in. I wanted to shoot before the two guys came over. They were closing on me pretty quickly. So I just wanted to get a shot off and luckily it went in."

Andrew Ladd and Jim Slater also tallied for Atlanta, while Ondrej Pavelec stopped 27-of-29 shots for the victors.

The Thrashers have won six straight on home ice and can tie a club record for consecutive home victories tonight. Atlanta won seven straight at Philips Arena from March 2-18, 2007. The club has a 9-5-1 record on home ice this season.

Atlanta notched a 3-2 overtime victory when it faced the Avs in Denver on Nov. 30. The Thrashers have taken three out of four in this series overall and they are also 2-1 with a tie in the last four encounters at Philips Arena. .