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Blackhawks begin second half of the season tonight in Denver

Back from the All-Star break, the Chicago Blackhawks won't have
their captain available to help avoid a fourth loss in five games.

While Jonathan Toews serves his one-game suspension for missing the
annual exhibition, the Western Conference leaders try to halt their
recent road woes by keeping the Colorado Avalanche from a sixth win
in seven games tonight.

Toews sat out the All-Star festivities because of an illness that
forced him to leave last Tuesday's 5-0 loss at Carolina. By league
rules, he's suspended for one regular-season game - either
immediately before or following the All-Star Game.

Though Toews has gone a season-high five straight games without a
point, his overall presence is obviously vital to Chicago's success.

"It's disappointing," teammate Patrick Kane said. "We'll definitely
miss him (in) an important game."

Chicago (33-16-4) owns a three-point lead in the West but went
1-3-0 leading into the break, getting outscored 11-3, following its
franchise-record 12-game winning streak. All three defeats were on
the road, and two were shutouts.

"We should have a sour taste in our mouth," said Kane, the NHL
leader with 30 goals and 43 assists. "We'll try to start (the
second half) the right way."

It begins with three more road games, also heading to Arizona and
Dallas this week before returning home.

The Blackhawks won their only visit to Colorado this season, 4-3 on
Toews' overtime goal on New Year's Eve, and most recently beat the
Avalanche 6-3 in Chicago on Jan. 10. Kane had three goals and two
assists in those two meetings after Colorado had won the first, 3-0
at home Dec. 15.

The wild-card leader in the West, Colorado (27-22-3) opens a
four-game homestand seeking a season-high fourth straight win at
the Pepsi Center. The club's 5-1-0 stretch overall before the break
included wins in all four games decided by one goal.

"We're having a lot of fun," All-Star forward Matt Duchene said.
"We've showed the character we have in that (dressing room)."

Duchene had a goal and an assist and Gabriel Landeskog scored twice
as the Avs overcame a 2-0 hole to beat Los Angeles 4-3 on Wednesday.

"The last game you play is also fresh in everyone's minds, and you
want to build off of that and feel good about yourself during the
break," Landeskog told the Avalanche's official website. "We wanted
to make sure that we played as good as we could."

Landeskog has three goals in three games after going seven in a row
without one. He has two with six assists during a six-game point
streak against Chicago.

Duchene has three goals and three assists against the Blackhawks
this season.

Teammate Semyon Varlamov's has an 0.99 goals-against average and a
.972 save percentage during a four-game winning streak, but he
hasn't played since Jan. 23. He's been involved with a civil trial
brought on by an ex-girlfriend stemming from a domestic incident in
October 2013. A verdict is expected Tuesday, but it's uncertain if
he would be able to play.

Backup Calvin Pickard has given up seven goals in the last two
contests.

Chicago's Corey Crawford posted a 1.40 goals-against average in
January prior to being pulled for yielding three goals in the first
period last Tuesday. He allowed five goals while splitting his two
starts this season against Colorado.

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