DENVER, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Two goals from Valtteri Filppula and three assists by Niklas Kronvall Thursday carried the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 decision over Colorado.
The Red Wings have won three in a row and 13 of their last 15.
Dominik Hasek made 22 saves to get the 374th victory of his career. That ties him with John Vanbiesbrouck for 11th all time in the NHL.
One of Colorado's goals came from Cody McLeod, the first of his NHL career. The Avalanche had won five of their previous six games.
Colorado learned prior to the game that captain Joe Sakic would miss eight to 12 weeks because of hernia surgery. He has not played since Nov. 30.
Filppula scored the game's first two goals, boosting his total for the season to 13. Colorado came back to tie it, but Jiri Hudler put Detroit in front to stay with nine minutes left in the second.
The Red Wings nursed a 3-2 lead until Mikael Samuelsson hit an empty net with 11 seconds to play.
