MacKinnon, Avs take early lead, hold on
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks.Rookie Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals Saturday, and the Colorado Avalanche held on for a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks at Pepsi Center.
Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves, including on a breakaway against Joe Pavelski on a Sharks power play late in the third period.
The Avalanche have won three games in a row and are 3-0-1 to start a seven-game homestand.
Down 4-0 early in the second period, the Sharks mounted an impressive comeback and climbed within 4-3 at 5:44 of the third period when Logan Couture moved unchecked to the front of the net to knock a loose puck behind Varlamov.
The Avalanche scored three goals on three shots in 66 seconds to grab a 4-0 lead in the second, but the Sharks closed within 4-2 with two goals that came 1:36 apart.
Jamie McGinn and Erik Johnson connected against Sharks goalie Antti Niemi 52 seconds apart, with Johnson scoring from the blue line while along the right-wing boards. The puck bounced off Niemi into the net at 5:45, prompting Sharks coach Todd McLellan to replace him with Alex Stalock. Niemi allowed three goals on 14 shots.
MacKinnon scored 15 seconds later on the first shot against Stalock, using his speed to skate down right wing before beating him to the far side. It was MacKinnon's second goal of the game, his 12th of the season, and gave him the scoring lead among NHL rookies with 26 points.
McGinn's goal came at 4:53 after Sharks defensemen Dan Boyle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic overskated the puck at the side of the net. McGinn gained possession and scored from just outside the crease, stretching his goal streak to three games.
The Sharks got on the board at 8:35 on a power-play goal from Pavelski, who converted a rebound into a half-open net. Pavelski has five goals and four assists in seven-game point streak.
Patrick Marleau beat Varlamov with a one-timer from the right point at 10:11 during a delayed penalty to make it 4-2.
The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 11-2 in the final 14 minutes of the period.
MacKinnon scored a power-play goal at 15:28 of the first period. Andre Benoit took a shot from the left point, and MacKinnon deflected the puck over Niemi's right shoulder.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
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05/01/2014 - 00:00
