Sharks at Avalanche
Two teams looking for something positive to change their fortunes meet when the San Jose Sharks visit the Colorado Avalanche for a Sunday matinee. The Sharks have lost five of their last six games after starting the season 4-0-0 and the Avalanche are just 1-4-1 in their last six contests, scoring only nine goals in the process.
San Jose gave up the final two goals to drop a 5-3 decision at Dallas on Saturday and captain Joe Pavelski told reporters, “We’ve got to get a little bit more out of each and every guy and we’ve got to find ways to win these games.” Offseason free-agent signee Joel Ward scored his team-leading sixth goal Saturday and Pavelski notched his fifth. The Avalanche could not build on an impressive 2-1 victory at Tampa Bay and fell 3-2 at Carolina on Friday. “We were expecting more, for sure,” Colorado general manager Joe Sakic told the Denver Post. “But we can’t hang our heads. Now, it’s time to perform. We gotta get wins.”
TV: 3 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (5-5-0): San Jose recorded a pair of power-play goals Saturday after going 1-for-19 with the man advantage in its previous eight contests. Veteran Patrick Marleau has gone six contests without a goal and owns a minus-7 rating in that span after scoring three times during the team’s four-game winning streak to open the season. Martin Jones, who won his first four starts with the Sharks while allowing just two goals before going 1-3-0, should be back in net after sitting out against Dallas.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (3-6-1): Nathan MacKinnon (10 points) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (five goals) lead Colorado's offense while Alex Tanguay has notched three points in the last two games. The Avalanche must get contributions from others, as former third overall pick Matt Duchene along with offseason acquisition Carl Soderberg have just one goal apiece. Erik Johnson is the only defenseman with a goal and fellow blue liner Tyson Barrie, who recorded 12 tallies and 53 points last season, has been held to just two assists.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose C Joe Thornton has 1,266 career points – one shy of Jean Ratelle for 35th place on the all-time list.
2. Colorado is 2-for-32 with the man advantage over its last seven games and has allowed six power-play goals in the past four contests.
3. The Sharks have won the last three meetings, including a shootout victory last season at Colorado.