Avs allow two goals in final period to Sharks in costly, 3-2 loss
May 6, 2021, 6:32 AM
The Avalanche had the game in hand going into the third period on Wednesday. Up 2-1 against a San Jose Sharks team that they had beaten in each of the last three games, the Avalanche appeared to go on cruise control. Checks that were finished early in the game weren’t in the final frame, and the Avalanche were outshot 12-6 by a Sharks team that forced scoring chances while Colorado settled for peppering Sharks goalie Josef Korenar from afar.
The tying goal came early as Tomas Hertl potted his second of the night past Philipp Grubauer fewer than three minutes into the period. Oddly, the goal didn’t seem to change the way the Avs played, and on a power-play midway through the period, Erik Karlsson scored on a one-timer to give the Sharks the lead.
The Avalanche still didn’t turn up the heat offensively, seemingly counting on their superior talent to eventually carry the day. As the seconds ticked away, the Colorado pressure never materialized, and they left San Jose knowing that they let one slip away.
“It’s just disappointing in the moment,” coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re in a position to win a game and we make a couple mistakes and they score. It’s an important game for us, a chance to stay within two (points) of Vegas.”
Vegas toppled Minnesota in overtime, putting the Avalanche four points behind the Golden Knights with one game in hand, and one game remaining between the budding rivals. First, the Avalanche will head down the California coast to play a pair against the all-but-eliminated Kings, where it remains to be seen if the Avs have learned not to take anything for granted.
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NEXT UP: Avalanche (34-13-4, 72 pts) at Kings (21-24-6, 48 pts) | Friday, May 7 at 8:00 p.m.
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NOTES
• Alex Newhook, the 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft, made his Avalanche debut on Wednesday, centering a line with Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky. “I had a good idea yesterday, but I officially found out this morning. It was a pretty cool thing to hear,” Newhook said. “You kind of dream of this day; I’ve been dreaming of it my whole life. It was exciting. I called my parents right away; they were the first people to know. It’s been great so far, trying to take it all in.”
• Andre Burakovsky scored his 17th goal of the season on Wednesday, good for fourth place on the Avalanche, and within striking range of 20 goals; his total last year. Burakovsky’s actually doing better than that, though; while his 20 with the Avalanche last season was in 58 games played, his 17 have come in 10 fewer games.
• Conor Timmins seems to be hitting his stride. With an assist on Andre Burakovsky’s goal, Timmins has helpers in three straight games to go along with a respectable plus-6.
• Philipp Grubauer played in his 37th game this season, matching his career high set in the 2018-19 season. With only five games to go in the regular season — and the Avs needing to win a minimum of four to stay in the hunt for the division crown — Grubauer will almost certainly set a new career high on Friday against the Kings.
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THE FINAL WORD
“It’s pretty special to be a part of that group. Only a certain amount of people from Newfoundland have played in the NHL, and I’m very proud to be part of that group tonight.” — Alex Newhook, on his NHL debut.
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LAST NIGHT’S LINES
FORWARDS
Top Line: LW Gabriel Landeskog, C Nathan MacKinnon, RW Mikko Rantanen
Second Line: LW Valeri Nichushkin, C Tyson Jost, RW Joonas Donskoi
Third Line: LW Nazem Kadri, C Alex Newhook, RW Andre Burakovsky
Fourth Line: LW Carl Soderberg, C Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, RW J.T. Compher
DEFENSEMEN
Top Pair: LD Devon Toews, RD Cale Makar
Second Pair: LD Ryan Graves, RD Conor Timmins
Third Pair: LDJacob MacDonald, RD Patrik Nemeth
GOALTENDER
Starter: Philipp Grubauer
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INJURY WATCH
• Devan Dubnyk (COVID-19 protocol) tested positive for the virus and is out from May 3 until at least May 17.
• Samuel Girard (lower-body injury) missed the May 1 game and is expected to miss two weeks.
• Brandon Saad (lower-body injury) was injured on Apr. 24 and is expected to miss two-to-four weeks.
• Bowen Byram (upper-body injury) will be out until at least early May after suffering a setback.
• Logan O’Connor (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve on Apr. 2. He has surgery, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
• Matt Calvert (upper-body injury) missed the Mar. 31 game and was placed on the injured reserve list on Apr. 11.
• Dennis Gilbert (facial injury, COVID-19 protocol) was placed on injured reserve on Feb. 20. He is expected to be out until at least late March.
• Erik Johnson (upper-body injury) left the Jan. 30 game and has no projected return date. On March 25, coach Jared Bednar suggested that it was possible that Johnson could miss the remainder of the season.
• Pavel Francouz (hip) has yet to play this season and remains on injured reserve. On Apr. 12, the Avalanche ruled him out for the rest of the season following hip surgery.
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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.
