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Avalanche start road trip against rival Red Wings

Jan 8, 2008 - 2:36 PM Colorado (22-16-3) at Detroit (32-8-3) 7:30 pm EST

DETROIT (Ticker) - Battling a couple of key injuries, not much has gone right for the Colorado Avalanche lately. And the road ahead does not look any easier.

Without captain Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, the Avalanche will have to kick off a five-game road trip with a matchup against the rival Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

Colorado did manage to end a four-game losing skid with Saturday's 2-1 triumph over the New York Islanders, but they have still failed to score a power-play goal in its last five contests, going 0-for-16 in that span.

The Avalanche, who are just 6-10-3 on the road, will now have to visit the league's best team, which owns a 17-3-1 record at Joe Louis Arena this season. In their only other meeting on the campaign, the Red Wings came away with a 4-2 victory on December 27.

While Detroit appears to be on cruise control heading towards the top seed in the Western Conference, Colorado is locked in a tight playoff battle.

The journey was made tougher when veterans Sakic and Smyth went down with long term injuries. Smyth was forced out of action Monday after fracturing his right ankle, while Sakic had hernia surgery and has been out since November 20.

The Red Wings have been rejuvenated by the return of Henrik Zetterberg, who leads the club with 26 goals and 54 points despite missing four games due to back spasms.

The Swedish left wing has a goal and three assists over his last three contests - all wins - since his return. He is currently on a seven-game point streak.