Darcy Tucker

Defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins try to reach their third-consecutive Stanley Cup finals while Phoenix and Los Angeles are back in the post-season after long absences.

Fraser scores twice as Blackhawks get closer to top seed in West with a 5-2 win over Avalanche. Colin Fraser scored twice, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist and the Chicago Blackhawks moved closer to clinching the top seed in the Western Conference with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

Duchene scores in shootout to give Avalanche a 4-3. Rookie Matt Duchene used a strong deke to the forehand to score the only goal of a shootout and put the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs with a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Duchene scores in shootout to give Avalanche a 4-3. Rookie Matt Duchene used a strong deke to the forehand to score the only goal of a shootout and put the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs with a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Koivu has goal, 3 assists, Ducks beat slumping Avs 5-2 to keep playoff hopes alive. Jason Blake had a goal and four assists, Saku Koivu added a goal and three assists and the Anaheim Ducks kept their slim playoff hopes alive while dealing a setback to Colorado's with a 5-2 victory over the Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Mueller, Stewart score in shootout, Avalanche beat Kings 4-3. Peter Mueller and Chris Stewart had shootout goals to help Colorado beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Wednesday night after the Avalanche squandered a late two-goal lead.

Selanne becomes 18th member of 600-goal club, Ducks beats Avs 5-2. Teemu Selanne can finally exhale. His 600th goal is in the books, with four home games to spare in what likely will be his final NHL season.

Wolski beats former Avs teammates with late goal with 22 seconds left. Wojtek Wolski beat his former Colorado teammates in his Phoenix debut, scoring the go-ahead goal with 22 seconds left in the Coyotes' 3-1 victory over the Avalanche on Thursday night.

Pitkanen scores go-ahead goal, Legace makes 19 saves in Hurricanes' 4-1 win over Panthers. Joni Pitkanen scored the go-ahead goal, and Manny Legace made 19 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Anderson stops 29 shots, Duchene, Yip score as Avs top Preds for 5th straight win. Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots, Matt Duchene and Brandon Yip both scored, and the Colorado Avalanche won their fifth straight by topping the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday night.

Brind'Amour scores winner, Hurricanes beat Senators 4-1. Rod Brind'Amour scored the winning goal, and Cam Ward made 31 saves in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Ray Whitney scores 2 goals, Carolina claims fight-filled 2-1 win over Avs. Ray Whitney scored two goals and the Carolina Hurricanes claimed a chippy 2-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

Leino scores late goal, Helm bets 2 in Red Wings' 4-2 win over Avalanche. Ville Leino's goal with 3:52 left broke a tie, and Darren Helm scored two short-handed goals to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

DENVER (Reuters) - The Colorado Avalanche won the battle for top spot in the Northwest Division on Sunday, surviving a tense final period to hold off the Calgary Flames 3-2.

Tucker scores first goal in nearly 2 months, leads Avalanche to 3-2 win over Flames. Darcy Tucker scored his first goal in nearly two months, Craig Anderson stopped 19 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat Calgary 3-2 on Sunday night to take over the top spot in the Northwest Division.

Budaj makes 35 saves, Stewart has three points in Avalanche's 4-0 win over Blues. Peter Budaj stopped 35 shots, Chris Stewart had two goals and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche ended a five-game trip with a 4-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.

Toskala wins in his return, Maple Leafs beat Thrashers 5-2. Vesa Toskala made 22 saves in his first start since Nov. 23 and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored goals 28 seconds apart on Monday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-2.

Crosby has 2 goals, assist to give him 10 points in 3 games as Penguins beat Avalanche 4-1. Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won for the sixth time in seven games by beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Thursday night.

Wilson scores first NHL goal, Hejduk gets game-winner as Avalanche beat Flames 3-2. Ryan Wilson scored his first NHL goal and added an assist, Milan Hejduk got the game-winner and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Another shootout between Blackhawks and Avalanche; Sharp's goal wins it for Chicago. Patrick Sharp scored in the third shootout round Wednesday night, lifting the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche ? the third straight game between the teams decided in a tiebreaker.