Sharks unable to close out Avalanche
San Jose forces overtime, but never leads as series heads to decisive Game 7 Wednesday
DENVER >> The Sharks did things the hard way in the first round, and they’ll be going the distance in the second round as well.
Gabriel Landeskog scored just 2:32 into overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win over the Sharks in Game 6 of their second round series, setting up a winner-take-all seventh game on Wednesday in San Jose.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored wit 2:28 left in regulation time to send the game into overtime as the Sharks erased three one-goal deficits but couldn’t overcome a fourth, as they’ll play a decisive seventh game for the second consecutive round.
The Sharks slowed down Nathan MacKinnon pm Monday but had no answer for J.T. Compher, who had two goals and an assist at Pepsi Center,
Compher gave the Avalanche a 3-2 lead at the 4:00 mark of the third period, as he got behind the Sharks’ defense in front of the crease and lifted a pass from Derick Brassard past Martin Jones.
Vlasic and Brent Burns both scored second period goals for the Sharks.
In Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights on
April 23, the Sharks trailed by three goals in the third period, only to score four consecutive goals and win in overtime 5-4.
They’ll be back in that same spot Wednesday.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the winner of Tuesday’s Game 7 between the St. Louis Blues
and Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final, which may begin this weekend, although the NHL will not announce the schedule until after the second round is complete.
Jones made 21 saves through three periods Monday.
Since the start of Game 5 against the Golden Knights until the end of Game 5 against the Avalanche, Jones posted a 6-2 record, a .936 save percentage and a 1.94 goals against average.
Just in this series, Jones had a .926 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average, just slightly better than counterpart Philipp Grubauer (.925, 2.44).
Burns scored with 10 seconds left in the second period to tie the game 2-2, capping a wild middle frame.
Tyson Jost opened the scoring at the 4:05 mark,
taking a pass from Compher on a 2 on 1 and beating Jones with a shot upstairs for his second goal of the playoffs.
Vlasic tied the game with 5:24 to go in the second, as Timo Meier drove the
• Joe Pavelski took another step toward a return to the lineup as he participated in the Sharks’ morning skate at Pepsi Center on Monday, marking the first time had been on the ice with his teammates in nearly two weeks.
“Getting in the altitude, a little skate there,” said Pavelski, who suffered a head injury April 23. “Felt a little more of a burn in just the legs. See how it all feels, always monitoring it. It was pretty good day.”
Pavelski did not dress for the 4-3 overtime loss in Game 6 on Monday night, but said there is a chance he could play in a Game 7.
Pavelski said he hasn’t had any setbacks since the injury.
“I’d say everything’s just kind of moving forward always,”
he said. “That’s all you can really ask for now. Keep making progress.”
“Just being back with the boys and skating again, he’s feeling much, much better, and I know the guys love
seeing him out there, so it’s great,” Sharks center Joe Thornton said Monday.
If the Sharks reach the conference finals, they would presumably not begin until late this week, although
the NHL will not finalize the schedule until after the second round is finished.
“It’s close,” Pavelski “We’re still checking out a few things here and there,
see how I feel and seeing where it needs to get to and how fast.”
Pavelski had been skating on his own since the middle of last week, but he couldn’t stop smiling Monday as he took the ice and went through drills with the Sharks. He also stayed on the ice afterward, working on individual drills.
Pavelski has been around his teammates quite a bit since his injury, which happened when the back of his helmet hit the ice at SAP Center in the third period of Game 7 of the Sharks’ first round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The cut from the accident required eight staples to close, and the staples are still there.
Pavelski, who opened up about what he’s been through since the injury on Sunday in San Jose before the Sharks left for Denver, credited his teammates, particularly Thornton, for keeping him calm in the immediate aftermath of the accident.