The Colorado Avalanche hosted the San Jose Sharks on Thanksgiving Eve, as they were looking for their 10th straight win. They’re 16-1-5 on the season and seemed like full steam ahead for Jared Bednar’s crew. The 11-9-3 Sharks were looking for their second straight win after defeating the Boston Bruins in their recent game. After the final horn sounded, the Avalanche shut out the Sharks 6-0.
Game Recap
The first period saw a pair of goals, both from the Avalanche. Ross Colton made it 1-0 just over three and a half minutes into the game. His fifth of the season was unassisted, but one he loved to get as he put the Avalanche out front early against Yaroslav Askarov. The second goal of the period came from Nathan MacKinnon with under a minute left in the first period.
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His 18th of the season came on the power play following some great passing from Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog. The MacKinnon goal made it 2-0 as the Avalanche looked in control in the first 20 minutes of the game. They outshot the Sharks 15-5 in the first period and were up a pair.
The second period saw a slew of goals from the Avalanche. It took them 1:16 to score three goals, two of them on Askarov and one on Alex Nedeljkovic. The first of the trio of goals was from Sam Malinski as he sniped a shot top corner over the right shoulder of Askarov. His second of the season was tough to stop as he continues his great start to the season.
The second goal came from Josh Manson, as his wrist shot got past Askarov as well to make it a 4-0 game. His second of the season was tough to stop as well, following some great passing from Victor Olofsson and Parker Kelly. Just nine seconds later, it was Joel Kiviranta in his first game back to make it a 5-0 lead for the Avalanche. He scored off a great pass from Ivan Ivan on Nedeljkovic, seeing the first shot he faced in the game in relief for Askarov. What a welcome back for Kiviranta.
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The third period only saw one goal, coming from Artturi Lehkonen. His ninth of the season came from picking up his own rebound after a great pass from MacKinnon to make it a 6-0 game. Mackenzie Blackwood picked up his second consecutive shutout, stopping 26 of 26. That gives the Avalanche three straight shutouts as the lumberyard of Blackwood, and Scott Wedgewood has been lights out.
That’s 10 straight wins for the Avalanche, giving them a 14-game point streak heading into Thanksgiving. They have points in 22 of 23 games, and are 9-0-2 at home. The Sharks fall to 11-10-3 on the season. Not a game they wanted after beating the Bruins in their previous game. Their next game is Friday, Nov. 28, against the Vancouver Canucks.
