Canucks-Avalanche Preview

Out of playoff position and struggling to score, the Vancouver Canucks are frustrated.

The Colorado Avalanche haven't been pleased with their play of late, either.

Looking to avoid a fifth straight defeat, the Canucks try to hand the Avs a fourth consecutive home loss Tuesday night.

Six points behind Colorado (27-24-4) for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with two teams in its way, Vancouver has scored once in each of the last three games and gone 1 for 12 on the power play in seven.

''It's frustrating and we've got to start turning the corner," goaltender Ryan Miller said after Saturday's 4-1 home loss to Calgary. ''We can't hang our heads and say, 'Oh well it happened again.' We've got to start digging ourselves out. No one else can do it but us, so start digging.''

The Canucks (20-20-12) suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats then trailed 2-0 before Calgary scored a pair of empty-netters. Perhaps most concerning is that Vancouver has recorded 73 shots in the last two contests.

A rough situation for a club that already ranks near the bottom of the league averaging 2.31 goals.

''The points are slipping away,'' said captain Henrik Sedin, who has gone a season-high four games without a point. ''I see enough chances for us to score more goals, but there have been a few too many games we have come up with one (goal) and that's not enough.''

Emerson Etem scored his first of the season Saturday for the Canucks, who dropped five in a row Nov. 27-Dec. 5.

"Every point from here on out is crucial," Etem said.

Though Colorado finds itself in a better overall position, it's winless in three home games since the All-Star break and has allowed 19 goals during a 1-3-1 stretch. It yielded six goals while winning five of the previous six contests.

"We're not sharp, and it's too bad because it comes at the wrong moment," coach Patrick Roy told the Avs' official website. "We put ourselves in a playoff spot, and we had a chance to start where we left (off from the break). We should be disappointed right now."

The Avs opened the scoring Saturday, then allowed lowly Winnipeg to post the next three en route to a 4-2 defeat. They've been held to two or fewer goals seven times in 10 games.

Matt Duchene scored his team-leading 24th goal Saturday, but only his eighth at home.

Back from dealing with a civil lawsuit that finished in his favor, Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves Saturday in his first action since Jan. 23. He allowed one goal in each all of his previous four starts - all wins.

"It's tough to pinpoint really what it is. There's a number of things," forward Gabriel Landeskog said. "I feel like we're too slow in the D-zone; we're spending too much time in our own zone. And once we do get the puck, we just don't make strong enough plays.

"We just don't support each other enough, and we're playing on our own a little too much. You're not going to beat any team like that."

Landeskog had two goals with an assist as the Avs took two of three from Vancouver last season.

Sedin has two goals and four assists during a six-game point streak at Colorado.