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Short-handed Penguins visit reeling Avalanche

Feb 16, 2011 - 6:56 PM (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a tough go of things without injured stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but they haven't even scraped the top of the iceberg that is sinking the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs hope to avoid posting the third-longest losing streak in club history this evening with a ninth straight loss as they take on the visiting Pens at the Pepsi Center.

Contenders for the Northwest Division title earlier in the year, the Avalanche have lost eight straight in regulation for the first time since relocating from Quebec prior to the 1995-96 season. It is also Colorado's longest stretch without a win since an 0-7-1 slide from March 15-April 1, 2009 and has dropped the club into 14th in the Western Conference, 10 points out of a playoff spot.

The Avalanche haven't lost nine straight since their franchise-record 14-game slide from Oct. 21-Nov. 19, 1990.

Colorado was hoping the addition of Peter Forsberg would help turn things around, but the 37-year-old announced his retirement from the NHL after just two games prior to Monday's home contest versus Calgary. The Avs did not take the news well, allowing five goals in the first period en route to a 9-1 setback.

Forsberg was attempting to return from a troublesome right foot that plagued the latter stages of his 14 NHL seasons. He did not register a point in 35- plus minutes over two games, his first in the league since the 2008 playoffs.

"One thing is for sure. I won't be able to second-guess myself," said Forsberg. "I really tried, and I tried and I tried. And I'm really sure about my decision this time."

Following Forsberg's announcement, the Avalanche suffered their worst defeat of the season, their 10th in 11 games overall and fourth straight at home. Daniel Winnik had the lone goal, while netminders Peter Budaj and Craig Anderson combined to stop 24 of the 33 shots fired their way.

"It was a bad performance, period. All those goals were mental breakdowns," offered Avs forward Paul Stastny. "It's not that they were better than us. It is our job in this locker room that we do not quit. People pay to see us play, and we owe it to them."

The Forsberg retirement wasn't the last of the bad news as leading scorer Matt Duchene left the game with a hand injury and is out indefinitely. He is tops on the club with 21 goals and 47 points.

While the Avalanche are moving on following the exit of a star from the past, the Penguins are trying to survive without two from their present. Malkin is lost for the season due to knee surgery and Crosby hasn't played since Jan. 5 due to a concussion.

Pittsburgh is also dealing with a host of other injuries and a pair of suspensions to Matt Cooke and Eric Godard, who picked up a 10-game ban for leaving the bench to fight in Friday's 9-3 loss to the New York Islanders that featured a combined 346 penalty minutes and 10 ejections.

The Penguins stay in New York didn't get any better on Sunday with a 5-3 loss to the Rangers. Deryk Engelland and Nick Johnson gave Pittsburgh an early two- goal lead, but the Rangers potted the next five goals.

"We miss the faceoffs, we take bad penalties and just made too many mistakes tonight," said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots in defeat, the Penguins' fourth in five games since winning five in a row. They are five points back of the Flyers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

The Pens have lost their last three on the road, including the first two contest of a four-game swing, and have lost their last five trips to Colorado, where they haven't won since Feb. 25, 1999.

Pittsburgh did record a 4-1 home win over the Avs last year to snap a two-game series losing streak and pick up just their second victory in the last 13 matchups in this series.