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Crosby, Penguins look to hand Avalanche first home loss

Nov 1, 2007 - 1:33 PM Pittsburgh (6-4-1) at Colorado (7-4-0) 9:00 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) -- Sidney Crosby has picked up right where he left off.

The reigning league Hart Trophy winner looks to build on his torrid start, and help the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth straight road win when they face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Crosby scored a goal and added three assists in his first game in his home state of Minnesota to lead the Penguins to a 4-2 win over the Wild on Tuesday.

Crosby has scored a point in 10 straight games, and will look to help the Penguins hand the Avalanche their first home loss of the season.

Backup goaltender Dany Sabourin stopped 28 shots in Tuesday's win and has a 2.06 goals-against average thus far.

However, he will likely sit in favor of the starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who is 0-1-0 with a 5.99 GAA in his last two starts.

Fleury will face a tough challenge against Colorado. Ryan Smyth had a goal and an assist as the Avalanche won their third straight, 3-1, over Minnesota on Sunday.

That win helped Colorado start the season 5-0-0 at home for the first time since 1995, when the franchise was located in Quebec.

Smyth, who signed as a free agent this past offseason, has been an integral part of the Avalanche's home success. The 13-year veteran has three goals and four assists in his last four games here.