A familiar formula played out today as the Colorado Avalanche lost their fifth overtime game in just their 13th game of the season, this time to the San Jose Sharks. The 3-2 final score came after a dominant Avs start gave way to tired legs and the youthful, rested Sharks took advantage as they clawed their way into the game and outplayed the Avalanche late.

Overtime was something we’ve seen plenty of already this year as the Avs put out Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar and it turned into another goal against as Philipp Kurashev scored his second goal of the day on the same kind of shot he beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on earlier in the afternoon.

The Avs now head back to Denver having acquired three of a possible four points and only play one game until, you guessed it, another weekend back-to-back next week, a Tuesday night tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Makar brothers make history

The legend of the Stastny family has been told many a times over the years, especially when Paul was drafted by and played for the Avalanche, but Anton and Peter were the only brothers to ever play for the team together in franchise history…until today.

After Gavin Brindley‘s injury yesterday in Vegas, the Avs needed a reinforcement and they plucked Taylor Makar, younger brother of Cale, from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles to fill out their lineup card.

Taylor Makar’s NHL debut today meant the Makar brothers saw the ice together for the first time in their pro careers and it was a cool moment for everyone involved. On the hockey side, anytime a seventh-round pick gives you NHL games, you feel good about the pick and development process, but Makar almost scored his first NHL goal in the second period as he was fighting for a loose puck behind Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

He didn’t get there, but you had to walk out of today feeling good about Taylor’s first NHL game. If Brindley is going to miss some time, Taylor made a case to stick around for more than just today.

Nathan MacKinnon scores a weird one

With the Avs trailing 2-1 in the second period and looking particularly lifeless, they got a lift from their superstar center when Nathan MacKinnon tied the game up with one of the stranger goals you’ll see. MacKinnon broke in on Askarov alone, was stopped, but potted the rebound. The controversy arose because the rebound was scored into a net that was clearly off its moorings, but the NHL allowed the goal because it was deemed Sharks forward Jeff Skinner pushed the net off intentionally.

Had the net not been pushed off, it would have been the same result, so the NHL allowed the goal. Here’s the goal:

Here’s the rule:

It’s wild how often the Avs end up involved in these weird ones, but at least it helps make you feel alive.

Overtime strikes again

It’s wild that the Avs are near the top of the standings in the NHL and are currently leading the Central Division given they have lost six of 13 games, but losing just once in regulation helps with that. Today was the classic “scheduled loss” with the Avs having played a tough one in Vegas last night and the Sharks sitting at home waiting for them.

We saw this same situation last weekend when the Avs lost in New Jersey (also in overtime!), but they won the front end of the back-to-back this weekend so it doesn’t feel quite the same. Taking three of four points consistently is going to put them near the top of the standings by the end of the year, so just keep doing that, I guess.

Winning a game or two in overtime would be nice, though, but that might require some adjustment from the Avalanche in doing so. The Avs have lost three overtime games (two losses came in the shootout) and MacKinnon and Necas were out there for all three of them, including today (obviously).

I can criticize Bednar for the lineup choice, but MacKinnon needs to change and not make lazy, dumb decisions on tired legs. He played 1:27 of the 1:48 in overtime and the Sharks’ game-winning possession began with MacKinnon making another avoidable turnover in the neutral zone. Frustrating stuff for the Avs.

Avs Postgame Pod