Avalanche blow two-goal lead in Sharks series finale

After finding their way to their first comeback win of the year (at least in terms of entering the third period trailing and finding a way to win), the Avalanche did the exact opposite tonight.

Entering the game with a 27-0-1 record when entering the third period with a lead, Colorado blew what had been a 2-0 lead at one point and watched it disintegrate into a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

It had been an extremely sleepy game through the first 35 minutes or and then Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky scored two quick goals and the Avs found themselves on top 2-0 going into the final minute of the second period.

An absolutely brutal shift by Colorado’s top line and defensive pairing allowed the Sharks to get a clean odd-man rush and easy tap-in goal from Tomas Hertl to make it 2-1 with just 13 seconds remaining in the second period.

That shift was a harbinger of doom as the Avs opened the third with absolutely no energy and the Sharks turned up the heat with Hertl scoring minutes into the final frame.

A lazy penalty in the offensive zone by Gabe Landeskog really enhanced the horrors of the evening from Colorado’s top line as the Sharks scored on the ensuing power play.

That 3-2 lead held throughout the remainder of the third as the Avs didn’t really manage much of a response and wilted in the final few minutes of the game.

It was a bizarre response to what should have been a jolt of life into their lineup after the thrilling comeback win two nights ago. To see them get up 2-0 and largely outwork and outplay the Sharks in the process and then watch as San Jose smoked them over the last 21 minutes of the game is an alarming thing to see.

You don’t want to make too much of a single loss, especially the fourth straight game against the same opponent in a season where we’ve seen just how difficult it is to win four straight against the same team, but without the comeback two nights this would have been two frustrating and avoidable losses in a row.

Obviously, that isn’t the world we’re living in as the Avs did come back two nights ago but it was them stringing together poor performances in an entire period that was poor enough to completely undo all of their good work is the part that is concerning to me.

Special teams continue to be a concern as the penalty kill’s slow descent from its lofty standing earlier in the season has continued and was the culprit again tonight on the game-winning goal by the Sharks.

Now, the Avs are still in a great position here as they have a game in hand on Vegas and a head-to-head game to make up the four-point difference between them in the standings but the efforts against the Sharks have to be a little concerning at this point.

It’s clear Colorado isn’t humming at their greatest frequency here. You see the way Vegas and Minnesota just battered each other in a desperation-filled two-game series and the way Colorado just kind of casually rolled along against the Sharks and it was a pretty stark contrast.

I’m not drawing any deeper meanings from any of this other than to say tonight’s loss is certainly disappointing and gives the Avs an even thinner margin for error in their quest for the division title.

TAKEAWAYS

• Colorado finished 6-2 against the Sharks on the season series. There isn’t any kind of meaning to it but I thought it interesting Colorado lost the final games of their season series against San Jose, St. Louis, and Minnesota. They won their finales against Arizona and Anaheim and have the final Vegas game coming up on Monday as well as four more games against the Kings. Again, nothing to draw from this, just one of those little nuggets I enjoyed digging up when perusing the schedule.
• I find it fascinating how close three of the four divisions have ended up coming down the stretch. In the West just five points separate the top three teams, out East five points separate the top four teams, and in the Central just four points separate the top three teams. The North, on the other hand, has a pretty decent separation throughout with the only real battle coming down to seeding between Winnipeg and Montreal. Despite that, there’s a real lack of drama here as the race for the postseason is pretty much over already. 13 teams have already clinched playoff spots and St. Louis and Montreal are basically formalities at this point. The only “race” left is Nashville versus Dallas for the fourth spot in the Central and even that is four points separating them with the Stars having just three games remaining and the Preds two. It’s close to over but the Stars aren’t dead yet, which is an impressive accomplishment given their injuries and absolutely bonkers schedule this year.
• Back to tonight, it’s obviously time to talk Alex Newhook. For a guy who only played 15 games at Boston College this year and then another eight in the AHL, he’s still closer to the freshman he was last year than the seasoned sophomore you usually see arriving at the end of the year. That makes his pro debut even more impressive, honestly. While his nine points in eight games with the Eagles was driven largely by production on the power play, his play tonight showed he’s not out of his depth in the NHL already. Nazem Kadri has struggled at wing in the brief attempts the Avs have used him there but he actually looked good next to Newhook and Burakovsky was pretty good overall tonight. I thought that trio earned the opportunity to run it back against the Kings. As long as Newhook remains competitive and doesn’t coast through games, Jared Bednar will be a fan. He had one very nice play in the defensive zone, too, that will appeal to the coaching staff. Lots to like even if he didn’t have a debut for the ages.
• That Toews-Makar pairing seems to have as many ups as downs when put together. Sometimes they dominate games and other times their level collectively drops and they trade mental mistakes. That happened tonight with Toews leaving Makar hanging a bit on the first Sharks goal and then Makar losing his guy on the second Sharks goal. That pairing has to be better.
• Conor Timmins continued a strong run of play here. He’s making a late charge to keep a spot in the lineup if Sam Girard and Bowen Byram both get healthy at some point (a big if, of course, but there are enough positives in both cases to keep it in mind). These final five games should be an audition for whoever plays the best gets to keep those spots when the playoffs begin if both Girard and Byram return.
• Grubauer looks just a touch off his best right now. Not unexpected given the bout with COVID and its myriad of effects on people. Could just be rust, too. Either way, his level will have to come up at the start of the postseason. These next five games give him at least three good opportunities to do just that.