Colorado 4, San Jose 3
When: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees:
Chris Lee, Carter Sandlak
Linesmen:
Justin Johnson, Trent Knorr
Attendance:
11067
By Field Level Media
Nathan MacKinnon scored his second goal at 3:13 of overtime and the visiting Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Jack Johnson and Evan Rodrigues also scored for Colorado (46-24-6, 98 points). MacKinnon also added an assist to reach 100 points for the first time in his career.
Mikko Rantanen and Devon Toews had two assists each and Alexandar Georgiev turned away 28 shots.
The Avalanche tied Dallas and Minnesota for first in the Central Division, but Colorado has played one less game than the Stars and Wild.
Kevin Labanc tallied two goals, Jacob Peterson also scored and Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves for the Sharks (22-39-16, 60 points).
MacKinnon got the winner when he received a pass from Toews, skated in alone and beat Kahkonen for his 36th goal of the season.
The Avalanche struck early as Johnson's one-timer beat Kahkonen at 4:29 of the first period. It was his second goal of the season.
Rodrigues gave Colorado a 2-0 lead soon after. MacKinnon put a sweeping backhander on net and Kahkonen made the save, but Rodrigues cleaned up the rebound at 6:24. It was his 15th goal of the season.
Midway through the second period, San Jose got on the board. Couture sent the puck off the boards in the neutral zone, Labanc picked it up, skated into the Colorado zone and beat Georgiev with a shot just under the crossbar at 12:55.
MacKinnon restored the two-goal lead later in the second. His snap shot beat Kahkonen between the pads at 17:54.
San Jose got even with a pair of goals in the third period. Peterson drifted into the slot, took a pass from Dani Gushchin and roofed a shot over Georgiev at 5:50. It was his second goal of the season.
Labanc came through less than two minutes later. He picked up a loose puck in front of the net, spun and beat Georgiev at 7:11. It was his 15th tally of the season.
Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was scratched with a lower-body injury.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Colorado |
|
San Jose |
|
Nathan MacKinnon 3 |
Points |
Kevin Labanc 2 |
|
Nathan MacKinnon 2 |
Goals |
Kevin Labanc 2 |
|
Mikko Rantanen 2 |
Assists |
Logan Couture 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Jacob Peterson 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Alexandar Georgiev .903 |
Save Percentage |
Kaapo Kahkonen .905 |
|
Alexandar Georgiev 28 |
Saves |
Kaapo Kahkonen 38 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Colorado
|
42 |
4 |
0-3 |
0-1 |
2 |
26 |
| San Jose
|
31 |
3 |
1-1 |
3-3 |
6 |
37 |
Upcoming Games
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Sharks have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .291 after a loss.
-
Colorado will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .630 after a win and .567 after a loss.
For more information, contact us