DET vs COL

Denver - He's got kind of a perma-scowl look on his face. He's got a fierce temper and he's not afraid to show it.

But Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is a thoughtful man who is always trying to be better - at everything.

"To me, learning is a lifelong process," Babcock said, after this morning's Red Wings skate at the Pepsi Center, where they can close out the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night in Game 4. "I think you've always got to be trying to get better. That's always my goal as a coach, and for my team."

Babcock earning praise

Babcock is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year, which might surprise some given Detroit's talented roster. But Babcock has earned praise from those talented players. Some Wings players say he has become less of a screamer and more of a listener, and doesn't take every loss like it's the end of the world anymore, especially in the regular season.

"It's maybe not always easy to coach a team with lots of talent, but he's done well with us," forward Tomas Holmstrom said.

Babcock said one of the biggest adjustments he had to make as a coach when he came to Detroit was learning how to juggle so many good offensive players.

"I came from a team in Anaheim that had to win with defence first, and we had a goaltender who had a great run," he said. "This team had a lot of skilled hockey players. But it all comes down to determination when it gets this far. How bad do you want it?"

Avalanche without 5 key forwards

Babcock understandably was in a good mood Thursday. His team has won five straight post-season games and is playing a team missing its top three left-wingers (Wojtek Wolski, Peter Forsberg, Ryan Smyth), leading regular-season scorer (Paul Stastny) and top goal-scorer (Marek Svatos).

None of the five Avalanche forwards will play in Game 4, with Forsberg unable to suit up again because of recurring groin problems.

Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville will play seven defencemen, with Jeff Finger coming back into the lineup. Veteran Wyatt Smith is likely to play in the Colorado lineup as a fourth-line forward.

"All we can do is go out and give it our best and try to win the game. There's no reason why we can't go out and get a win with the players we still have," Avs defenceman Adam Foote said.

Foote has been paired with Kurt Sauer through the post-season, but Quenneville put Foote with Jordan Leopold toward the end of Game 3.