Colorado Avalanche clinch playoff berth; 3 takeaways from road win over San Jose Sharks
Apr. 5—The Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3, in overtime on the road Tuesday night. Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Playoffs, clinched
It's official: The Avalanche will have an opportunity to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. A gritty win over a rebuilding Sharks team raised their points total to 98 with six games left on the schedule. That's enough to secure their place among eight playoff teams in the so-so Western Conference. The Avs control their own destiny, with a game-in-hand on Dallas and Minnesota, for the No. 1 seed. The Central Division standings update:
1. Avalanche — 98
2. Dallas — 98
3. Minnesota — 98
MacKinnon aka Mr. 100
Nathan MacKinnon reached a new career milestone — his first 100-point season — with two goals and one assist in San Jose. His second score of the night was the game-clincher in overtime, scoring on a breakaway, to seal the victory.
"We didn't have a great overtime. But that's how it works. You just get a bounce. (Devon) Toews had a nice bang pass to me and I found a spot there," MacKinnon said on the Altitude TV postgame broadcast. "I'm happy to get it (100 points). You hear a lot of chatter about it, so it's nice to get it out of the way."
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Makar, Helm on injured list
The Avalanche began their four-game California road trip hopeful that backup goalie Pavel Francouz (lower-body injury), forward Artturi Lehkonen (broken finger) or defenseman Josh Manson (lower-body injury) might be available to play. That didn't happen on Tuesday, and instead, two new players joined the Colorado injured list.
Defenseman Cale Makar and forward Darren Helm each missed the Sharks game with respective lower body injuries, coach Jared Bednar told reporters in San Jose. Their availability is unclear for Thursday night's rematch at SAP Center. Makar and Helm have each missed significant time this season with different health issues.
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Avalanche 4, Sharks 3 (OT)
What happened: Colorado opened their final long road trip of the season with a resilient win over an inferior opponent.
What went right: Nathan MacKinnon scored the game winner in overtime to record the first 100-point season of his NHL career. The Avalanche opened a 2-0 first period lead with goals from Jack Johnson (through traffic from the point) and Evan Rodrigues (rebound at the net). In the second period, Nathan MacKinnon scored on a one-timer after Colorado won a draw.
What went wrong: San Jose tied the game with 12:49 left in regulation after the Sharks trailing by two goals midway through the game. Kevin Lebanc opened the night with a breakaway score and later notched the game-tying goal. He snagged a lose puck, spun and shot past Alexandar Georgiev from the slot. San Jose also scored on a second period power play chance (Jacob Peterson). Colorado went 0/3 on power play chances. Two Avalanche players, Darren Helm and Cale Makar, missed the game with lower-body injuries. Ben Meyers and Kurtis MacDermid entered the lineup in their absence.
What's next: The Avalanche (46-24-6) replay the San Jose Sharks (22-40-15), 8:30 p.m. Thursday (Altitude) at SAP Center.
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