Colorado Avalanche (14-8-5) at Tampa Bay Lightning (10-6-8), 7:30 p.m.

Sports Network | November 30, 2009

(Sports Network) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to stop a three-game losing streak this evening, as they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Pete Times Forum.

The Avalanche are 0-1-2 in their last three games, keeping them two points back of the first-place Flames in the Northwest Division. Colorado picked up a point last time out, falling to Minnesota, 3-2, in a shootout on Saturday to get swept in the home-and-home set.

The Avs were bested 5-3 in Minnesota on Friday.

Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots in Saturday's loss, as he was beaten twice in the final session. Matt Hendricks, activated from injured reserve before the game after missing time with a groin injury, scored, as did rookie Matt Duchene. It was the third overall pick of the 2009 draft's fourth goal and 12th point of the season.

"[We've] got to start figuring out how to finish games, said Hendricks after his club fell to 4-7-3 over 14 games since a 10-1-2 start. "We seem to relax and get away from our game, and we're sure taking way too many penalties. We've got to change that."

Colorado made a host of moves before the game, as they also activated defenseman Adam Foote (jaw) from IR. The Avalanche placed defender Kyle Cumiskey on injured reserve and blueliner Tom Preissing on waivers, but then lost David Jones indefinitely due to a torn ACL suffered on Saturday.

Milan Hejduk, meanwhile, missed Saturday's game with a knee injury suffered on Friday and is day-to-day.

Colorado begins a five-game road trip tonight and is 7-6-3 as the guest. It has lost six of its last seven on the road.

The Avs, though, have won four straight and five of their last six versus the Lightning. They have also won three straight in Tampa.

Anderson is 1-1-2 with a 1.85 goals-against average in his career versus Tampa Bay.

The Lightning haven't beaten the Avalanche since March of 2004 and haven't notched a home win over the club since March 7, 2003. They come into this contest having lost four of their last six, going 2-2-2 in that span.

Tampa Bay was in Dallas on Saturday, falling 4-3 in overtime after the Stars' Tom Wandell scored 2:12 into the extra stanza. He bested former Stars goaltender Mike Smith, who made 34 shots in defeat.

Paul Szczechura scored in his second straight game, Jeff Halpern tallied and Steven Stamkos also lit the lamp. Stamkos, the top pick of the 2008 draft, scored on the power play, his seventh tally on the man advantage, which is tied for third most in the NHL.

"It's definitely a tough one to swallow, but we had a lot of character to come back," said Stamkos, who has five goals and 12 points over his last nine games. "We didn't play that great, but we didn't play that bad 5-on-5. We'll take the point on the road."

Tampa returns to The Forum, where it is 6-1-4 this year.

Smith is 3-1-1 with a 1.70 GAA in five games versus the Avalanche, two of those starts, while fellow Lightning netminder Antero Niittymaki is 1-0-1 versus them with a 2.91 GAA.