Colorado Avalanche Final Score: Avalanche Lose To Canucks, 2-1, To Start 2011

The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1, on Sunday night. Canucks center Alexandre Bolduc scored his first NHL goal at 18:15 in the first period, with assists going to Tanner Glass and goalie Roberto Luongo. After a scoreless second period, the Canucks increased their lead by another goal in the third period. Mason Raymond scored at 3:11 to seal the game for the Canucks. Bolduc and Kevin Bieksa assisted on the play.

Paul Stastny added a goal for the Avalanche at 13:35, with assists by Matt Duchene and John-Michael Liles. Stastny's goal was his 300th career point.

This game witnessed 16 penalties between the two teams, nine alone in the second period. However, neither team was able to capitalize on any of their power plays.

Vancouver's Roberto Luongo made 31 of 32 saves, while Colorado's Craig Anderson stopped 27 of 29 shots.

The Avalanche (20-14-5, 45 points) are 1-5 in their last six games and will host the Buffalo Sabres (16-18-4) on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at the Pepsi Center.

Avalanche Vs. Canucks: Colorado Seeks Elusive Win Over Vancouver

After an inconsistent trip to Alberta this past weekend, Colorado returns home to face their bitter division rival, the Northwest Division-leading Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver leads Colorado by six points in the standings in big part because of their undefeated record against the Avalanche this season. They have outscored Colorado by a 11-6 margin in their three games this season, continuing a recent trend of domination over the Avalanche.

Vancouver is once again led by the superstar brothers, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. Both players are among the league leaders in points, and give star goalie Roberto Luongo plenty of offensive support. Vancouver is on a roll, having won eight of their previous nine games. They have played 11 straight games without losing in regulation.

Colorado has struggled of late, wth their league-leading offense struggling to find rhythm. The recent returns of Milan Hejduk and Cody McLeod have provided some lift, but the absence of Chris Stewart is still noticeable. Recent struggles aside, this is a game that Colorado must win if they have hope to claim the division title. A loss would place them eight points out of first place and without a single win against Vancouver on the year, with only two games remaining against their rival. A victory tonight, however, places Colorado within four points and still with a legitimate shot to make up ground once healthy.

Puck drops at 6:00pm MST.