(My Sportsbook) - The Colorado Avalanche hope a return to Denver can get them on the board in their Western Conference semifinals matchup against the top- seeded Detroit Red Wings. The Avs trail two games to none in the best-of-seven series, but host Detroit in Game 3 tonight at the Pepsi Center.

The Red Wings won Games 1 and 2 on their home ice, outscoring Colorado by a 9-4 margin in those contests. Detroit won Game 1 by a 4-3 count last Thursday and notched a 5-1 victory at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday.

Colorado was an excellent home team during the regular season, going 27-12-2 at the Pepsi Center. The sixth-seeded Avalanche were 2-1 in Denver during their opening-round series against Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Detroit was one of the best road teams in the NHL with a 25-12-4 mark away from the Motor City in 2007-08. The Red Wings went 1-2 as the visiting club in their conference quarterfinals matchup against Nashville.

Game 4 of this set will also take place in the Mile High City, as Colorado is scheduled to host Thursday's contest as well.

The Red Wings, who won the Presidents' Trophy this year as the league's best team in the regular season, went ahead 2-0 in the series with the 5-1 rout of Colorado on Saturday.

Johan Franzen recorded a hat trick and Chris Osgood made 19 saves to lead the Red Wings to the easy win at Joe Louis Arena.

Franzen continues to get it done in the playoffs and now has five goals and one assist in the first two games of this series. The Swedish centerman has seven goals and three assists in eight games this postseason.

Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and an assist, and Valtteri Filppula also tallied for the Red Wings. Niklas Kronvall added a pair of helpers.

Ian Laperriere had the lone tally for the injury-riddled Avs, who remained without the services of center Peter Forsberg, who was scratched from Game 1 because of a sore groin. Forward Wojtek Wolski will likely miss the rest of the series with an upper-body injury, while the club also shut down defenseman Scott Hannan, who has a lower-body ailment.

The Avalanche will also be without forward Ryan Smyth, who injured his foot while blocking a shot in Game 2. Smyth has two goals and three assists during this year's playoffs.

However, Forsberg practiced on Monday and is questionable for tonight's contest. The Swedish superstar had one goal and four assists in the Minnesota series and hopes to make his debut in this conference semifinals set.

Back in the lineup was Avs netminder Jose Theodore, who was pulled from Game 1 and sent back to the team hotel because he was sick. Theodore, who had intravenous therapy prior to that game, was no longer feeling under-the weather but surrendered four goals on 20 shots in the second game. He was pulled in the middle of the second period, and Peter Budaj stopped 19-of-20 shots the rest of the way.

Theodore was excellent in the Minnesota series, stopping 188-of-200 shots in the series against the Wild while posting a 1.88 GAA and .940 save percentage. He's surrendered eight goals on 36 shots for a dismal .778 save percentage in the first two games against Detroit.

There was speculation that Budaj might get the call in Game 3, but Avalanche head coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday that he's sticking with Theodore as the starter.

The Avalanche and Red Wings are two of the NHL's most successful franchises in recent history, as they combined to win five Stanley Cup titles from 1996-2002. The teams met in the postseason five times during that stretch.

However, this is the first time the clubs are facing off in the postseason since Detroit beat Colorado in seven games during the 2002 Western Conference finals. That was also the last time the Avs made it past the second round of the playoffs.

All told, Colorado has won three of the five all-time playoff series with the Red Wings.

The last time the Avs came back from an 0-2 deficit to win a series was against the Red Wings, as Colorado won the final four tests during the 1999 conference semifinals to win in six games.

Detroit most recently blew a 2-0 edge in the playoffs in 2001, when the Los Angeles Kings won the conference quarterfinals in six games despite losing Games 1 and 2.