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NHL on NBCSN: Red Wings aim to shake ugly loss tonight vs Avs

Jimmy Howard, Ryan O'Reilly

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 05: Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings makes a save as Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the Colorado Avalanche crashes the net during a NHL game at Joe Louis Arena on March 5, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

NBCSN’s ongoing coverage of the 2013 campaign will continue tonight when the Detroit Red Wings host the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Red Wings are only on a two-game losing streak, but it seems worse after their ugly 7-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday.

“Ugly is an understatement,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said in a Detroit News report. “Obviously, preparation and work ethic are two things you need to be successful in any walk of life, and we weren’t prepared and didn’t compete at a high enough level.”

On top of that, Detroit was playing without captain Henrik Zetterberg due to a groin injury and he might miss tonight’s game as well.

With or without him, the Red Wings need to put that loss behind them and beat the Colorado Avalanche. Otherwise Detroit might see its narrow lead on the eighth seed slip away.

The Red Wings are three points ahead of the ninth place San Jose Sharks, but Detroit has also played in two more games. Meanwhile, the Avalanche are dead last in the Western Conference, making them one of the few teams that aren’t still in the battle for a playoff spot.

The Avalanche have won just two of their last 10 games, but they proved that they weren’t going to just roll over with their 1-0 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

“It’s been a tough stretch here, the last little while, but not many times have we had a complaint about effort, or work,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco told the Denver Post after their win on Saturday. “This afternoon we got rewarded. I thought we played really hard.”

We’ll see if that effort is enough to add to Detroit’s woes, or if the Red Wings will shake off their embarrassing loss and beat Colorado.

Probable goaltenders: DET - Jimmy Howard (14-10-4, 2.47 GAA, .915 SV%) | COL - Semyon Varlamov (10-16-3, 2.93 GAA, .906 SV%)

Top scorers: DET - Pavel Datsyuk (11-24-35, 34 GP) | COL - P.A. Parenteau - (14-21-35, 34 GP)

Notable Injuries:
Detroit - Forwards: Mikael Samuelsson (upper body), Zetterberg (groin), Todd Bertuzzi (back) Defenseman: Kyle Quincey (face)
Colorado - Forwards: Milan Hejduk (shoulder), David Jones (knee), Paul Stastny (foot), Steve Downie (knee) Defenseman: Ryan Wilson (ankle)