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(Sports Network) - On Sunday, Mike Babcock set off a nation-wide celebration in helping lead Team Canada to a gold medal in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Twenty-four hours later, Detroit's head coach will now try to get his club into the playoff picture.

Babcock and the Red Wings kick off a busy March for the NHL as they visit the Colorado Avalanche, who hope to take over first place in Northwest Division tonight at Pepsi Center.

Sunday was certainly an emotional day for Babcock, the coach of Team Canada who saw his squad blow a 2-0 lead to the United States before scoring in overtime to give Canada its first gold medal since 2002. The U.S. evened the game with only 24.4 seconds left in regulation, but Pittsburgh Penguins center and Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby scored 7:40 into overtime for Canada.

"Our guys did a great job and to win in overtime in Canada, it is a dream come true," said Babcock.

Babcock won't get too much time to celebrate. He returns to Motown with his Detroit squad a point back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Red Wings haven't missed the postseason since 1989-90, winning four championships over its 18-season playoff run that is the longest active postseason streak in U.S. professional sports. That includes a Stanley Cup championship in 2008 and a runner-up finish a season ago.

The Red Wings, who lost four of five (1-2-2) before the break, have also won eight straight Central Division titles, but they trail the first-place Chicago Blackhawks by 19 points in the standings.

Part of the problem has been injuries, as the Red Wings have lost over 280 man games this season, with stars such as Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary and Tomas Holmstrom all missing time. Detroit does come out of the break healthy, as only Kirk Maltby is on injured reserve.

Maltby landed on IR Friday because of a right shoulder injury, while defenseman Andreas Lilja was activated following a four-game rehab stint in the minors. Lilja hasn't played in the NHL since last February due to a concussion.

Tomas Holmstrom did not play for Team Sweden because of a left knee injury, but he should be in action tonight along with the returning Lilja.

While Detroit is fighting for a playoff spot, Colorado has been a pleasant surprise just one season after finishing with a Western Conference-low 69 points. The Avalanche won four of five before the break and are tied with the Canucks for first place in the Northwest Division with 76 points.

Colorado will try to keep that momentum tonight after the layoff and it has won five straight and nine of its last 11 at home.

Forward Paul Stastny, who was teammates with Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski on the silver-winning Team USA club, leads the Avalanche with 42 assists and 54 points, while 2009 third-overall pick Matt Duchene has a team and rookie high 20 goals on the year.

The Avalanche hope to have Matt Hendricks back for this contest, as the center has been out since January 18 due to an ankle ailment.

"I'm feeling like I'm ready to play," said Hendricks on Colorado's Web site. "I'm optimistic, but we'll see for sure [Monday] morning. It's been a tough 40 days or so, and I'm ready to get back after it."

The Avalanche will try to win the season series versus the Red Wings for a second straight season tonight. They won three of four last year and took the first two meetings in 2009-10 before a 4-2 setback in Detroit on December 31.

Pavel Datsyuk, who leads the Red Wings with 17 goals, 32 assists and 49 points, scored in that win and he also notched six goals and 12 points in his final 10 games before the break. Jimmy Howard made 20 saves and is 1-1-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average in his career versus Colorado.

Duchene had two assists and Craig Anderson made 31 saves in the loss for the Avs. Anderson is 2-1-0 with a 2.28 GAA this year versus Detroit.