*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
In this game, the Colorado Avalanche channeled the spirit of Val. Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals, Cale Makar scored and had two assists, and the Avalanche defeated the San Jose Sharks with a 5-3 win on Friday night in San Jose.
The Avalanche have won 3 straight games, but they've been on a tear since the new year. They have 93 points on the season, in front in the Presidents trophy race. They have a 27-5-3 record since January 1, and have a 44-13-5 record on the season. Additionally, they have won 10 of their last 12 games against the Sharks.
Makar said of the game that "I think our tempo was high in the first two. I think it was still high in the third, we just had a few defensive breakdowns that obviously cost us. Overall, I think I liked the compete of our team."
On the power play 10:18 into the game, Nazem Kadri put the Avalanche ahead 1-0, scoring his 23rd goal of the year, assisted by Makar and Mikko Rantanen. That lead became 2-0 at the 14:14 mark, when Andre Burakovsky passed off to Darren Helm, who scored his 5th goal of the season to make it 2-0 after one period.
In the second, Makar scored just 34 seconds into the period, very quickly making it a 3-0 lead. Nichushkin scored his 16th goal of the season 15:29 into the second, and the lead was all of a sudden 4-0. Jeffrey Viel got the Sharks on the board with 41 seconds left in the second, making it a 4-1 game after two periods.
At the 13:02 mark of the 3rd period, Rudolfs Balcers scored, cutting the deficit down to 4-2, with his 7th goal of the season. Erik Karlsson scored with 1:25 left in regulation to cut it to 4-3, keeping the Sharks in it, but Nichushkin was there to score an empty net goal with 15 seconds left to seal off the win.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that "When it's all said and done, I thought our penalty kill did a nice job and the power play went 1-for-1, so I think special teams was huge. It was an area I was a little bit worried about."
Starter Darcy Kuemper got the day off, so the start went to Pavel Francouz, who had a strong game. Francouz stopped 25 of the 28 San Jose shots he faced, posting a .893 save percentage, which was enough to get the win. Francouz's record improved to 11-3-1 on the season.
On the other end, rookie Zach Sawchenko made the start for the Sharks, and got hit with the loss. Sawchenko also faced 28 shots on goal, but Francouz made one more save, thus giving Sawchenko the loss. With the loss, his record drops to 1-2-1 in 7 appearances this season.
Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said of the loss that "I thought we played hard against these guys. We didn't give up much for the first two periods, but they got a power-play goal early in the game and we had opportunities on our power play where we didn't bury. I thought the guys battled hard, and especially on a back-to-back against the best team in the league."
Up next, the Sharks get back in action on Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes at home, with James Reimer lined up to start. The Avalanche host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, with Kuemper to get the start.
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