Avalanche report

Aaron J. Lopez

Friday, November 30, 2007

Back to the Shark Tank

Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan has no idea what to expect tonight when he returns to San Jose for the first time since leaving as a free agent during the summer.

"I'm excited to go there," he said. "I had a long time there, a lot of good memories. I'm sure it will be a little bit weird."

Hannan spent nine seasons with San Jose before signing a four-year, $18 million contract with the Avalanche. Asked if the fans might be bitter that he left, Hannan said: "You never know. We'll see what happens."

He is fairly confident he will not be welcomed back in the same manner as teammate Ryan Smyth when Smyth played his first game in Edmonton earlier this year.

"I really don't think I'm going to get the tribute," Hannan said.

The Avalanche beat the Sharks at the Pepsi Center on Oct. 7.

"When you step out there for warm-up, it was kind of like, 'Wow!' Hannan said. "You're looking across at guys you played with for a long time."

Encore for Budaj

The Avalanche's alternating-goalie system temporarily is on hold.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday that Peter Budaj will make his second start in a row tonight at San Jose.

Budaj has been sharing time with Jose Theodore, but Theodore will get a break after allowing 13 goals in his previous three games. Budaj has won his past two starts, allowing only four goals.

If Budaj plays well tonight, he could earn another start Saturday at Los Angeles.

Here comes Hensick

The Avalanche recalled top prospect T.J. Hensick from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League and reassigned forward Brad Richardson.

Hensick, a 21-year-old center, had five goals and eight assists in his first 18 games as a pro with Lake Erie.

The 88th pick in the 2005 draft, he scored 23 goals and had 46 assists last season as a senior at the University of Michigan.

Hensick was scheduled to join the team in San Jose.

Laperriere progressing

For the second time in two weeks, Ian Laperriere bid adieu to his teammates as they left town without him.

Laperriere practiced with the Avalanche for the first time since injuring his right knee on Nov. 11 but did not make the two-game trip to San Jose and Los Angeles.

"Our dream's not to rehab and watch your team play. Our dream is to play hockey and help your team win," he said. "I couldn't do that the last road trip (Nov. 16-22), and it was painful."

When the Avalanche returns home, Laperriere hopes to take part in contact drills. Then he expects to have a better idea of when he will return for a game.

Numbers game

231consecutive games played by Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, who left in the third period Wednesday against Edmonton with a groin injury. He did not practice Thursday, but Quenneville said Sakic expects to be ready for tonight's game.

He said it

"It was getting to be kind of deju vu all the time there for a while. It's tough for a fan to say, 'Ah, I want to go to that game,' when you're playing Calgary for the third time in a month."

Hannan, on the Avalanche ending an 18-game stretch that featured 15 games against Northwest Division opponents.

Avalanche at Sharks

* When: 8:30 MST tonight.

* Where: HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.

* TV/radio: Altitude2; KKFN-AM (950).

* Leading scorers

Colorado (13-9-1) G A Pts.

C Paul Stastny 9 18 27

C Joe Sakic 7 14 21

LW Wojtek Wolski 8 9 17

RW A. Brunette 3 13 16

RW Milan Hejduk 7 8 15

Coach:

Joel Quenneville

San Jose (11-8-4) G A Pts.

C Joe Thornton 9 16 25

C Jeremy Roenick 6 7 13

C Patrick Marleau 4 8 12

D Craig Rivet 1 9 10

LW Milan Michalek 7 2 9

Coach:

Ron Wilson * Injuries: Colorado - RW Ian Laperriere (sprained knee), D Jordan Leopold (broken wrist) and RW Marek Svatos (groin) are out; Sakic (groin) is day to day. San Jose - LW Ryan Clowe (knee), C Marcel Goc (back) and C Tomas Plihal (shoulder) are out.

* Sidelight: Tonight's game is the first of 12 in a row for the Avalanche against teams that aren't in the Northwest Division. The next division game is Dec. 23 against Vancouver.

* Notes: The Avalanche has been outscored 38-20 in 11 road games and is 3-for-49 on power plays on the road. . . . Brunette has four assists and no goals in nine games since Nov. 5 against Calgary. . . . Tyler Arnason has one assist and no goals in eight games since Nov. 7 against Edmonton. . . . The Sharks have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (52) and have killed 57 of 60 penalties in the past 16 games.