Varly’s 47 saves help Avs clinch berth
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks.Goalie Semyon Varlamov made 47 saves, and the Colorado Avalanche clinched their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2009-10 with at 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Pepsi Center on Saturday.
The Avalanche (47-21-6) moved into second place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks (100-99) with one game in hand.
The Avalanche lost center and leading scorer Matt Duchene to a knee injury on his first shift 32 seconds into the game.
The Avalanche took a 3-2 lead into the third period despite being outshot 11-3 in the second and without a shot after John Mitchell's power-play goal made it 3-1 at 6:32.
Mitchell's goal ended Colorado's 0-for-11 drought. McGinn took a shot that caromed off the end boards to Mitchell on the goal line to goalie Alex Stalock's left. Mitchell scored with a shot that sailed inside the near post.
The Sharks pulled within 3-2 at 8:35 on a goal by defenseman Dan Boyle, who ended a 30-game drought Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. James Sheppard was in the left corner after winning a draw and passed to Boyle in the lower right circle for a shot that went into the net off Varlamov's glove.
The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 29-14 through the first two periods.
The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals by Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod, who has three of his five goals this season in the past five games.
McLeod broke a 1-1 tie at 10:34 on a shorthanded breakaway after Nick Holden's clear from his end deflected off Boyle's glove at the San Jose blue line. McLeod gained possession and shot the puck between Stalock's legs.
It was the Avalanche's third shorthanded goal of the season and the fifth allowed by the Sharks.
Stastny opened the scoring at 1:33. Gabriel Landeskog won a battle for the puck behind the net and passed to Stastny, who scored with a shot from below the left circle.
The Sharks tied the game at 3:07 with a power-play goal from Joe Pavelski. Joe Thornton got the puck to Pavelski in the slot for a backhand between Varlamov's stick and his right pad.
It was the sixth power-play goal in three games for the Sharks and the sixth allowed by the Avalanche in six games.
-by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com-
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
29/03/2014 - 23:00
