The Colorado Avalanche try to halt their five-game winless streak this evening when they welcome the San Jose Sharks to the Pepsi Center in a battle of division leaders.

Both teams have 83 points and are tied for second place in the Western Conference. The Sharks lead the Pacific Division by six points over Dallas, while the Avs hold just a one-point edge over Vancouver in the Northwest.

On Wednesday, Joe Sakic registered his 14th career hat trick and Alex Tanguay tied a career-high with five points, helping Colorado skate to a 5-5 tie with the Canucks in Denver.

Tanguay had a say in all five Avalanche goals, scoring twice and assisting on all three tallies by Sakic, who also added a helper. Milan Hejduk had two assists to round out the scoring for the team's top unit, which combined for 11 points although Colorado's winless skid increased to five games (0-2-2-1).

The Avs broke out with five goals after managing just 11 in their previous eight contests.

The Avalanche, winless in their last eight home games (0-4-3-1), complete a four-game stand Sunday against Calgary.

Also on Wednesday, Marco Sturm and Niko Dimitrakos ended the second period with consecutive goals to snap a tie and lead San Jose to a 4-3 win over Montreal at HP Pavilion.

Brad Stuart and Vincent Damphousse both finished with a goal and two assists for the Sharks, who earned their eighth straight home win and posted their third straight victory overall.

Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves in the winning effort.

The Sharks, who have won three of their last five road games, complete a two- game trip in Dallas on Sunday.

The season series is tied at 1-1-1 this season, but Colorado is 7-1-1 in the last nine matchups. The Sharks have also won just three times in their previous 14 trips to Denver (3-7-4).