"Milan Hejduk has been through slumps before, but he admits this is probably the worst of his career. It's not just because of the numbers: three goals in his past 27 games, two of the three in one game and only one of the three at even strength.

What has made this the toughest stretch of his career is because of that big "C" on his sweater.

"I think it's a little worse, because you want to be the leader on the ice, the guy who shows the way out," the Avalanche captain said Friday. "And right now, I'm not scoring goals, so it's frustrating. Being the captain, you feel a little more responsibility for things when they are not going well.""