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CHICAGO (AP) -Peter Budaj made 24 saves and Marek Svatos and Ryan Smyth each had a goal and an assist to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday and end a six-game losing streak.
Ben Guite, Chris Stewart and Milan Hejduk also scored for the Avalanche, whose skid was their longest since dropping eight straight as the Quebec Nordiques in January 1992.
Colorado's Tyler Arnason added three assists to tie a career high for points in a game.
Jonathan Toews scored a goal for Chicago, which lost its second straight. Toews has 11 goals in his last 11 games and leads the team with 28 tallies.
Chicago right wing Martin Havlat left the game after his fourth shift in the second period and did not return. Havlat has 12 goals and 19 assists in 30 games since Jan. 1.
Goalie Antti Niemi was shaky in his second NHL start for Chicago, making 24 saves while giving Cristobal Huet the day off.
Huet has started 10 of Chicago's last 12, including the Blackhawks' 5-3 loss at Boston on Saturday. He normally alternates with Nikolai Khabibulin, who has been out since Feb. 11 with a groin injury.
The Avalanche is last in the Western Conference and could be headed to the franchise's first losing season since 1993-94.
Colorado jumped ahead 2-0 late in the first period on goals by Guite and Stewart.
Guite scored with 6:26 left in the first when Ruslan Salei's 40-foot shot from the right wing deflected off the forward's body.
Stewart made it 2-0 with a deflection from the right edge of the crease 3:27 later. He was set up when Arnason tipped Adam Foote's shot from the point across the crease.
Toews' power-play goal at 6:53 of the second cut it to 2-1 and gave the Blackhawks some momentum.
Budaj made several close-in saves to keep the game tight before Hejduk and Svatos scored goals 2:34 apart late in the period.
Hejduk extended Colorado's lead to 3-1 with 4:00 left in the second by ripping a shot from the right circle past Niemi's right skate. Svatos made it 4-1 from the low slot when he was left wide open and converted Arnason's centering pass.
Smyth wrapped in a rebound of Svatos' shot at 5:37 of the third to make it 5-1.
Notes: Chicago C Samuel Pahlsson, acquired from Anaheim on Wednesday, skated on Sunday for the first time since being diagnosed with mononucleosis in January and said he could be ready to return in about a week or more. ... Blackhawks RW Patrick Sharp missed his 10th game with a left knee injury, but is expected to resume skating this week. ... Khabibulin has resumed skating, but not taking shots. Chicago GM Dale Tallon said both Sharp and Khabibulin are "very close" to returning. ... Colorado LW Cody McLeod sat out his first game of the season with a shoulder injury he suffered Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to Detroit.
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