In San Jose, the visiting Colorado Avalanche were able to keep pace in the Central Division scramble to the finish with a 4-3 win over the Sharks on Sunday night.
Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog potted a goal apiece and three points in the win.
“I thought our big guys had a really good night,” Avs head coach Jared Bednar said. “Our top line was outstanding. They end up scoring three goals, one on the power play. We’ll take it. I like the two points.”
Pavel Francouz made 22 saves to get the win.
“I thought we could have got more,” Landeskog said. “I liked the way we played. I liked the way we found each other. We had that attack mentality.”
Joe Thornton, Noah Gregor and Melker Karlsson scored for the Sharks.
“For four games in six nights, I thought we played hard,” Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said. “We had guys playing out of position, up spots in the lineup, more minutes than they’re used to, and young guys that we had no choice but to play.”
Vladislav Namestnikov and former Shark Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Avs.
“I’ve never had that experience before,” Donskoi said. “So there was some extra nervousness maybe. A lot of memories. Good stuff tonight. It was a good experience for me. It was fun to see those guys.”
[WATCH: All Avalanche vs. Sharks highlights]
Martin Jones made 20 saves in the loss.
“We’ve been battling through a lot of injuries this year,” the Sharks’ Kevin Labanc said. “It’s hockey. It’s going to happen this year. It’s going to happen next year and the year after that. We’ve got to find ways to bring the next guy up and be ready to take that responsibility. It’s an on-going learning process.”
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