COLORADO IN MIGHTY TROUBLE BRYZGALOV, HARD HITTING HAVE DUCKS DOMINATING.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

Six periods have been played in this Western Conference semifinal playoff series, and in five of them, the Colorado Avalanche has served as the proverbial bug against the Mighty Ducks' windshield.

The series, other than the third period of Sunday's Game2, hasn't been competitive. In two games, the Ducks have outscored the Avalanche 8-0, outshot them 69-51, outhit and outskated their opponents on every shift and have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead tonight in Denver.

``Those first two games were very good for us,'' Ducks winger Teemu Selanne said. ``We've worked very well together. But now it's a new series in Colorado. We're expecting it's going to be harder, but at the same time I think we can be better, too.''

Three times in the 2003 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks held a 2-0 lead in a series. They swept Detroit and Minnesota and beat Dallas in six games, so recent history is on their side.

So is ancient history. Teams with a 2-0 series lead have won the series 232 of 268 times, a success rate of 86.6 percent, so the Avalanche face a huge challenge, even if they greatly improve their level of play.

``Our first objective going home is changing the momentum,'' Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. ``It's exciting to get back and play in front of our fans on our home ice. We've played well there all year. We've just got to get back there and look to grab the next game.''

That won't be possible without significant improvements. Colorado has allowed eight goals in two games, but the play of goaltender Jose Theodore is the least of the Avalanche's problems.

The Ducks' defensemen, particularly Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin, are dominating the middle of the ice and not giving Colorado's talented forwards room to operate.

Joe Sakic, who had three goals and four assists in a five-game series against Dallas, has taken only four shots in two games, one fewer than Samuel Pahlsson, who has done an excellent defensive job on Sakic.

Colorado had the eighth-most efficient power play in the NHL during the regular season but has failed on all 11 attempts against the Ducks. Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has something to do with the Avalanche's offensive slumber, but Colorado hasn't been trying to take the action to the Ducks.

``I think we understand what we have to do now,'' Colorado defenseman Rob Blake said. ``We weren't up to the level of them again (in Game 2). As a result, they capitalized on some opportunities where they drive and they take it to the net. We've got to start doing that, too.

``It's frustrating, but the way you solve it is you get people in front and get shots on net. We had four shots in the first (period) and four in the second. That's not enough. We can read off of some of their plays.''

The Ducks seem to have benefited greatly from their first-round series against Calgary. That series went seven games and was especially brutal because of the Flames' ultra-physical defensive play.

But the Flames seem to have put the Ducks in the proper mind-set. After two weeks of exchanging bone-crushing hits with the Flames, the Ducks have maintained that level of play and played a far more physical game than the Avalanche, which is built to succeed with a bit more skill and finesse.

``I think Games 6 and 7 in the first round really gave us a lot of confidence,'' Selanne said. ``It's just carried over from those games. Everybody is working so hard.''

There is, however, the matter of the third period in Game 2. Colorado, overmatched for the first two periods, started to do everything right. They tightened up defensively and swarmed Bryzgalov's net at the other end, and generally turned in the type of gritty effort that could serve them well tonight.

``For us to have success, we're going to have to play a solid defensive game,'' Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. ``The quality chances we gave up (in Game 2) were superior to what we did in the two previous games. It's something that we're going to have to focus on as a group.''

So while Colorado might now have a template for success, here's the bad news for the Avalanche: Even in that impressive third period, they did not score, and Bryzgalov made 12 saves.

Tonight, perhaps Colorado will find out if even their best effort is good enough.

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Avalanche hasn't found a way to get the puck past Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

(2 -- color) Mighty Ducks defensman Sean O'Donnell, left, pushes Colorado's Alex Tanguay.

(3) Colorado Avalanche's goalie Jose Theodore blocks a shot by Mighty Ducks' Travis Moen.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Box:

(1) MIGHTY DUCKS at COLORADO

- Rich Hammond

(2) A SURE THING?