Brett Clark News

As a junior player, Dave Barr played on four teams in three years, so he got vast experience at an early age how to handle life being uprooted.

When T.J. Galiardi went down, he thought for sure his ankle was broken again. It wasn't, but the Avalanche still said Galiardi might miss six weeks with a severe sprain.

The Avalanche hit the 20-game mark, or roughly the end of the 2009-10 season's first quarter, on Saturday night.

Avs D Kyle Cumiskey celebrates his 1st pd goal at Chicago on 11-11-09. The Avs lost in a shootout.

Heading into the 2009-10 National Hockey League campaign, a pair of factors seemed to paint a less-than-promising picture for Kyle Cumiskey and the Colorado Avalanche.

Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles didn't return to the game after suffering a shoulder injury late in the first period of what turned out to be Colorado's 4-3 shootout victory over the Blackhawks Friday night.

Whether it was due to the flu bug or not, they failed to generate any quality chances on net and conceded the winner on the first shot of the game.

No team in the NHL has allowed more shots on goal than the Avalanche. Yet no team had more points entering Monday than the Avs, which says it all about the job goalie Craig Anderson has done.

Colorado's Kyle Cumiskey crowds the Calgary crease during the Avalanche's slim 3-2 win.

Wojtek Wolski broke a tie at 5:31 of the third period, and Craig Anderson made 30 saves to help the Colorado Avalanche reach 10 victories with a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

Darcy Tucker #16 and Brett Clark #5 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrate a first period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during game action October 13, 2009 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

TORONTO // The Toronto Maple Leafs are penning one of the ugliest chapters in their NHL existence after a 4-1 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday consigned the winless Leafs to their worst start to a season since 1991.

For years, everything from cold showers to horrible-smelling, tiny dressing rooms to trick boards to rowdy, vicious fans to bloodthirsty enforcers have conspired to create hostile hockey environments in different arenas.

The Detroit Red Wings face off against the Colorado Avalanche tonight with a surprisingly stiff task ahead of them: the Avalanche possess a 7-1-and-1 record and lead the Western Conference with 11 points .

Heading into the season, Colorado had a complete log jam at the defense position.

The surprising Colorado Avalanche will shoot for a third consecutive victory tonight when they visit the struggling Montreal Canadiens in the home opener for the Habs at the Bell Centre.

They've tried benchings, bag skates and callups, while burning through three goaltenders in two weeks.

Colorado's Darcy Tucker assisted on Brett Clark's early goal, then added his own later.

Darcy Tucker had a goal and an assist against his former team to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag on Mondays during the 2009-10 NHL season.