Denver, CO -- Avs, Wings kick off crucial home-and-home

A pair of struggling front-runners in the Western Conference face-off in a crucial contest tonight, when the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche begin a huge home-and-home set at the Pepsi Center.

Detroit, which has already locked up the Central Division title, owns a five- point advantage over Colorado and San Jose for the top spot in the West with six games remaining. The Red Wings have slipped a bit recently, dropping two straight to leave the door open for the Avalanche and the Sharks.

The Red Wings fell 5-2 to the Sharks on Tuesday evening at HP Pavilion. Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Fischer scored for Detroit, while Manny Legace stopped just 15 of the 20 shots he faced. The Red Wings are only 1-3-1 in their last five contests.

Defenseman Derian Hatcher was back in the Red Wings' lineup after missing three games with a shoulder injury.

Legace started in place of Curtis Joseph, who re-injured his ankle in warm ups. Joseph continues to be bothered by the sore ankle, making Legace the starter. It is expected that Legace will be the Red Wings' no.1 goaltender for the postseason.

The Red Wings have lost two straight road contests. For the season, Detroit owns a 15-14-7-2 mark on foreign ice.

Colorado has been struggling as well, going winless (0-3-1) in its last four games. The Avalanche have clinched a postseason slot and lead Vancouver by three points in the Northwest Division.

On Tuesday, the Avalanche did manage a point, as they skated to a 2-2 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. Matthew Barnaby and Steve Konowalchuk found the back of the net for the Avalanche.

Tommy Salo allowed two goals on 30 shots for Colorado, which welcomed back star center Peter Forsberg after a 17-game absence due to abdominal and groin muscle problems. Forsberg tallied an assist and four shots on goal in the contest.

The Avalanche have struggled mightily at home as of late, posting just a 2-5-4-1 record in their last 12 contests. For the season, Colorado owns 18-13-6-1 mark at home.

These teams have split a pair of meetings this year with the road team taking both games. Detroit won 3-2 in overtime at the Pepsi Center on Feb. 5 and the Avs tallied a 5-2 win at Joe Louis Arena on Feb. 14. The road team has won six of the last eight meetings in the series.