BRING ON THE AVALANCHE

By Derek Jory

If the Vancouver Canucks hope to catch the St. Louis Blues for top spot in the Western Conference, a win Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche would go a long way.

The Canucks sit four points back of the Blues for the lead in the West, with one game in-hand. That game is tonight, and not only could they bridge the gap, the Canucks can lock up its fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a single point.

The Avalanche are currently tied for eighth in the West; they’re a point out of seventh and two up on 11th place Calgary.

This game is clearly a must-win for both teams.

“I like our game, I like the way we’ve been playing the last couple of games and if we

keep playing like this, we’re going to be in every game and we’re going to win most of them,” said Henrik Sedin, confidence his team will have their A-game in Colorado.

“I really like the way our team has responded the last week and I’m looking forward to the stretch drive here.”

In this, the final outing of a four-game road trip, Roberto Luongo gets the call in net, while Sami Salo and Aaron Rome will return to the line-up, paired together, in place of Andrew Alberts and Marc-Andre Gragnani.

The Canucks haven’t suffered a regulation loss in Denver since October 3, 2009.

NO UPDATE ON DANIEL

Henrik Sedin had nothing new to say about the status of brother Daniel having not spoken with him today.

Henrik did speak about the five-game suspension handed out to Duncan Keith, however, saying he couldn’t say much.

“I’ve got nothing to say about that. It’s up to the league to decide and I don’t think the amount of games should matter, it’s a matter of guys showing more respect for each other and realizing that hits like that are not part of the game and if you run your elbow through someone’s head, it’s going to hurt, and it’s going to take a while to get back.”