Duchene, Budaj help Avalanche clip Red Wings

1/11/2011

DENVER -- Matt Duchene scored twice in Colorado's four-goal first period and Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots, helping the Avalanche halt the Detroit Red Wings' three-game winning streak with a 5-4 victory Monday night.

Paul Stastny, Kevin Porter, and David Jones added goals for the Avalanche in a game that featured two of the NHL's highest-scoring teams.

Colorado chased Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard 14:15 in after he gave up four goals on 10 shots. Howard was replaced by Joey MacDonald, who allowed only one goal the rest of the way on 16 shots.

Jan Mursak netted his first NHL goal, and Brian Rafalski, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom also scored for the Wings.

Holmstrom deflected in a shot midway through the third period to trim what had been a three-goal deficit to a 5-4 margin. The Red Wings pulled MacDonald for an extra skater with just over one minute left, but couldn't score the equalizer. T.J. Galiardi cleared the puck from the Colorado zone to end the game.

Budaj was solid as he spelled Craig Anderson, thwarting one scoring chance after another, especially in the third, when the Red Wings relentlessly pressured the Avalanche.

Duchene set up Jones' backhanded goal in the second period, staking the Avalanche to a 5-2 lead.

Later in the 2nd, Zetterberg poked a shot through Budaj's legs, running his point streak to 11 games. He has six goals and 10 assists in that span.

The dinged-up Wings have done a remarkable job of weathering a string of injuries. They have the second-most points in the Western Conference despite missing Mike Modano (wrist), Pavel Datsyuk (wrist/hand) and Dan Cleary (ankle) for chunks of time.