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Avalanche coach Quenneville on the verge of milestone

Jan 9, 2008 - 1:30 PM Colorado (22-17-3) at Washington (17-20-5) 7:00 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - While Joel Quenneville would probably prefer a win to a milestone, he can have both if things go right Wednesday.

Quenneville will coach his 800th career game when the Colorado Avalanche visit the Washington Capitals.

The 49-year-old Quenneville will join Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire and former Chicago and Los Angeles coach Bob Pulford as the only men to coach 800 NHL games and play in 800 NHL games.

Despite approaching a milestone, Quenneville has had little reason to celebrate lately - the Avalanche have lost five of six contests and have not scored more than three goals in the last seven games.

The Avalanche, 6-11-3 on the road, are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Colorado's power play has converted just 13.5 percent of the time this season and is currently in an 0-for-17 skid.

The Capitals, who are 8-10-1 here, are starting a five-game homestand and do not have to play a road contest until January 21.

Washington has posted a 5-2-3 record in their last 10 games and has won three of their last four, including a 5-4 overtime victory over at Montreal on Saturday.

Alex Ovechkin, who had two goals in Saturday's win, leads the Capitals with 32 tallies and 52 points.

Wednesday's game is the only one of the season between the teams and just the third since the start of the 2003-04 campaign.