• The Avalanche trails the St. Louis Blues by two points for the Western Conference fourth playoff seed and home-ice advantage in the first round so there is a lot at stake for them in this game. The Avs lost 62 percent of faceoffs to the Sharks Thursday night so they need to work on that.
• Blackhawks goalie Jocelyn Thibault is tied for the NHL lead with eight shutouts but is expected to miss this game because of post-concussion syndrome, the lingering effects of a concussion suffered March 9. Either Steve Passmore or Craig Andersson will start.
• Peter Forsberg returned Thursday after missing a game due to a charley horse. He should be further improved against the Blackhawks. Forsberg's 1.35 points per game is second only to Mario Lemieux's 143. He has 88 points and is bidding for his first 100-point season since 1995-96.

Klemm, 33, played his entire career with the Nordiques-Avalanche organization and won two Stanley Cups before signing as a free-agent with Chicago in 2001. Originally a forward, Klemm is a strong skater, good puckhandler, muscular, tough and a good leader. He played every game last year but missed a dozen this season with a hand injury.

The pride of Usti, Czech Republic, is having his best season, equaling his career high with 41 goals and setting new marks with 42 assists and 83 points. Plus, he's plus-37, second in the NHL to linemate Peter Forsberg. Can you believe this guy was a fourth-round Draft pick?