THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY AT COLORADO

* Starting time: 7 p.m.

* Television: Fox Sports West 2, ESPN2

* Radio: XTRA (690 AM)

* Key: Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Steve Rucchin, the Ducks’ top line, didn’t score in Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Avalanche. It can’t happen again for the Ducks to win.

* Last meeting: Avalanche enforcer Jeff Odgers scored the game-winning goal--his first goal in 78 regular-season games--in a 2-1 victory Friday in the Pond.

* About Colorado: The Avalanche blew a two-goal lead, then beat Vancouver, 3-2, in overtime Sunday. It was goalie Patrick Roy’s 424th career victory, which moved him into third place on the all-time list. Terry Sawchuk, who spent most of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, is the all-time leader with 447 victories. Defenseman Alexei Gusarov returned to the lineup Sunday after missing nine games with a broken finger.

FRIDAY VS. CHICAGO

* Starting time: 7:30 p.m.

* Television: Fox Sports West 2

* Radio: XTRA (690 AM)

* Key: Chicago goalie Jocelyn Thibault returns just in time for the Ducks. He gave up two poor goals in a 4-2 loss to the Ducks on Nov. 19. He returned to the lineup Sunday after missing six games because of a broken left ring finger. Thibault has a 2-10-3 record. He will need to be a little sharper for the Blackhawks to have a chance.

* Last meeting: Duck defenseman Niclas Havelid scored his first NHL goal in the 4-2 victory.

* About Chicago: The Blackhawks are doing more off the ice than on it. Mike Smith, who helped rebuild the Toronto Maple Leafs, was hired as manager of hockey operations and will handle the day-to-day running of the club. He has a tremendous task ahead of him. The Blackhawks have given up 96 goals, second most in the NHL. They lost to Calgary, 2-1, on Smith’s first day on the job.

SUNDAY VS. DETROIT

* Starting time: 5 p.m.

* Television: KCAL (Channel 9)

* Radio: XTRA (690 AM)

* Key: The Ducks have to stay out of the penalty box. Detroit scored three power-play goals against them on Nov. 15.

* Last meeting: The Ducks squandered a 2-1 lead and lost, 6-3.

* About Detroit: The Red Wings make their first visit to the Pond since last May, when they won two games to finish off a sweep in the first round of the playoffs. Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman and Pat Verbeek have been teamed on the same line for the last 10 games. The trio has 1,496 career goals. At least one of them has scored in each of the last 10 games.