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Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche pay a visit to the San Jose Sharks and they'll be desperate to secure their fifth win in a row. Colorado currently lead the NHL with 22 points after making radical changes in the off-season in a bid to turn around their fortunes from last season, which saw them make history by finishing last in the Western Conference.

Their 10-1-2 record speaks for itself heading into this clash but, fortunately for bettors, it isn't represented in the game winner market. Colorado are available to back at +235 in regular time and +146 on the money line. San Jose, meanwhile, are favorites at -101 in regular time and -167 on the money line.

The Sharks' record isn't exactly poor; they are 8-4-1 but they were defeated by Colorado at the start of the season. The Avalanche are now 6-1-2 on the road after beating Calgary in midweek. Importantly, they came from behind to secure this win and it seems clear that the belief is now firmly in place that this team can win no matter what the circumstances. Their heads don't drop when they fall behind; adversity only seems to make them play better.

The Sharks will also have to battle against Craig Anderson tonight, who has a 1.67 GAA and .940 save percentage. He's been an important factor in explaining the Avalanche's good run of form and the Sharks are having a few problems of their own up front to compound this potential difficulty. Anderson was dominant against Calgary and pulled off a sensational save in the third period.

Up front for the Avalanche will be Wojtek Wolski, who has already notched up a couple of goals against the Sharks this season and found the back of the net twice during Colorado's victory over Edmonton this week. Wolski now has an impressive total of eight goals and will be one to watch tonight.