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Red Wings try to start new home streak vs. Avalanche

Feb 25, 2012 - 4:53 PM (Sports Network) - The Red Wings had the longest home winning streak in NHL history snapped in their last game and they'll try to bounce back tonight, when the Colorado Avalanche visit Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit entered Thursday's game against the visiting Canucks riding a 23-game home winning streak, but Alexandre Burrows scored in the final round of the shootout to give Vancouver the 4-3 decision and deal the Red Wings their first loss at the Joe since Nov. 3 against Calgary.

On the final attempt of the shootout, Burrows skated in on net and faked to the backhand before lifting the puck past Jimmy Howard. Detroit had posted a 3-0 mark in shootout during the home streak before seeing its luck run out on Thursday.

Darren Helm had a goal and two assists in the loss, while Justin Abdelkader scored one and assisted on another for Detroit.

Kyle Quincey also scored in his first game with the Red Wings since coming over from Colorado in a trade earlier this week. Quincey was originally a draft pick of Detroit in 2004 and played with the Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings before joining Colorado. He has three assists in five career tests against his former club.

Howard took the hard-luck loss as he made 40 stops through regulation and overtime.

"We just have to put this behind us and come out ready for the next game," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "You have highs and lows during the season, we just have to skate better and play smarter."

The Red Wings, who have lost two in a row overall, still lead the Central Division with 85 points. Detroit is four points ahead of St. Louis for the division lead and is just one behind Vancouver for the top seed in the West and the overall NHL lead.

The Red Wings have lost both games since leading scorer Pavel Datsyuk went out with a knee injury. Datsyuk, who has 59 points on 16 goals and 43 assists, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday and is expected to sit out for just two weeks.

Detroit is 26-2-2 as the host this year compared to a 15-16-1 road record. The Wings will visit Columbus in their next game on Tuesday before returning to the Motor City for a two-game homestand.

Colorado has won two straight and three of its last four games and enters today just two points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Avalanche have outscored the opposition by a 9-1 margin in their last two trips to the ice. They posted a 4-1 win against visiting Los Angeles on Wednesday and slammed the lowly Blue Jackets by a 5-0 score last night in Columbus.

David Jones backed Semyon Varlamov's third shutout of the season with a pair of goals and an assist in Colorado's rout of the Blue Jackets on Friday.

Varlamov stopped 28 shots for his seventh career shutout. Steve Downie and Gabriel Landeskog added a goal and an assist while Matt Hunwick also found the back of the net for the Avalanche.

"We got better as the game went on," said Colorado head coach Joe Sacco. "I don't know if there was one thing that turned it around, but I think getting that first goal was real important for us."

Downie also added an assist in his second game with the Avalanche. He came over earlier this week from Tampa Bay in the three-team trade that also sent Quincey to Detroit.

The Avalanche are 14-14-3 as the visiting team this year and are wrapping a brief two-game trip tonight.

Detroit has taken two of three from the Avalanche this year and tonight's test marks the end of the 2011-12 season series. The Red Wings have claimed four of six overall against Colorado and the Avs have dropped two straight and three of their last four tilts in Motown.