Finally, the Avalanche received some rare help the other night when the Calgary Flames, the team it is chasing for the final Western Conference playoff position, lost in regulation in Dallas.

Now, the Avalanche, which has played one fewer game than the Flames, has an opportunity to pull to six points when it meets the Phoenix Coyotes tonight at the Glendale Arena (8, Altitude).

"We did get some help, but we have to take care of our side of the picture," Ian Laperriere said Friday. "We have to win our games and keep playing hard like we've been playing. We have to go into Phoenix with the same mentality we had in our building and be desperate and win."

The Avalanche knocked off the Flames on Wednesday and has gone 6-0-1 in its past seven games, 4-0-1 on the road.

One thing the Avalanche can't do is let up against the Coyotes, who officially have been eliminated from playoff consideration.

When the teams met Jan. 26 in Denver, the Avalanche squandered a valuable point by blowing a 4-2 third-period lead and losing 5-4 in a shootout.

The Avalanche has since been a lot more conscientious after taking leads and needs to keep it up, regardless of any pressure that might exist while treating every contest like Game 7 of a playoff round.

"People wrote us off a long time ago, so there's really no pressure," Andrew Brunette said. "We just want to make a nice run here and see what happens."

Rather than focus on the standings, the Avalanche has concentrated on improving its own game. Of course, it would be nave to suggest coaches and players aren't aware of the number of points the team needs to make up in the remaining dozen games.

"I was doing that big time before, and I don't think it's healthy," Brunette said. "That's something we got caught up with doing a little too much before. Now it's, 'Let's keep playing the way we've been playing, win a game and not worry about what Calgary or anybody else does.' "

So far, the results have been better than anyone could have expected.

"The challenge of closing the gap is going to be real tough," coach Joel Quenneville said. "You need a lot of things in your favor, but the excitement that we have around the room and around the team is that we're going into games expecting to play well.

"That's basically been our mind-set; that's what we can control."

The most significant improvement has been in the area of team defense. The Avalanche has allowed a total of 12 goals in regulation in the past seven games, yielded an average of 24 shots and outscored opponents 10-4 in the third period.

"We came close to having a couple streaks earlier in the year and we kind of fell on our face a little bit," Brunette said. "This is the first one we've sustained."

THINK PINK: Laperriere is one of several NHL players who will use a special pink stick this weekend to raise money for breast cancer research. The sticks will be autographed and put up for auction. Information can be found at TPSHockey.com.

"A few guys on our team will use it in warm-ups or play with it," said Laperriere, who practiced with a pink stick Friday and plans to use it Sunday at home against San Jose.

So much for the macho image of hockey players.

"If a stick tells you if you're tough or not, there's a problem," Laperriere said.

HOBEY BAKER FINALISTS: Two Avalanche draft picks, Dartmouth right wing David Jones and Michigan center T.J. Hensick, are among 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey's best player.

Jones, a 22-year-old junior, was named the Ivy League Player of the Year after collecting 18 goals and 24 assists in 31 games. He was the Avalanche's eighth selection (288th overall) in the 2003 NHL entry draft.

Hensick, a 21-year-old senior, led the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in scoring, with 20 goals and 42 assists in 38 games. He was Colorado's fifth selection (88th overall) in 2005.

The winner will be announced April 6 during the Frozen Four at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Avalanche at Coyotes

• When: 8 MDT tonight.

• Where: Glendale (Ariz.) Arena.

• TV/radio: Altitude2; KKFN-AM (950).

• Leading scorers

Colorado (35-29-6) G A P

C Joe Sakic 28 51 79

RW Andrew Brunette 24 43 67

C Paul Stastny 23 44 67

RW Milan Hejduk 29 30 59

LW Wojtek Wolski 20 24 44

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Phoenix (28-39-3) G A P

RW Shane Doan 24 23 47

RW Owen Nolan 16 20 36

D Zbynek Michalek 4 24 28

C Steve Reinprecht 7 17 24

D Keith Ballard 5 16 21

Coach: Wayne Gretzky

• Injuries: Colorado - D Patrice Brisebois (back surgery), D Jordan Leopold (wrist surgery) and C Pierre Turgeon (calf) are on injured reserve; D Karlis Skrastins (sprained knee) is out; RW Marek Svatos (groin) is day to day. Phoenix - C Patrick Fischer (groin), D Ed Jovanovski (groin), C Mike Ricci (neck) and C Dave Scatchard (concussion) are on injured reserve.

• Sidelight: The Coyotes have lost six of their past seven games and officially have been eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth season in a row.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com

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