Avalanche 4, Sharks 2: San Jose Shows Late Fight, But Colorado’s Class Prevails
DENVER - The San Jose Sharks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, and while the final score tells one story, the game itself offered a deeper look at where this Sharks team stands - and where it’s still trying to go.
San Jose got goals from Timothy Liljegren and Philipp Kurashev, both in the third period, but the damage had already been done. Colorado’s forecheck, speed, and structure overwhelmed the Sharks for most of the night, and despite a spirited push in the final frame, it wasn’t enough to claw back.
Let’s break it down period by period.
First Period: Searching for Rhythm Early
The Sharks won the opening faceoff, but that was about the only thing that went right in the first minute. A misfired pass from Mario Ferraro left San Jose scrambling, and Yaroslav Askarov was tested early with a tough side-to-side save on a Nathan MacKinnon one-timer.
From there, the Avalanche applied consistent pressure, capitalizing on a turnover by Macklin Celebrini that gave Victor Olofsson a prime scoring chance. Askarov stood tall again - and that would become a theme.
San Jose did get a couple of power plays to work with, and with Celebrini quarterbacking the unit, they showed a different look. Gone was the predictable drop pass; in its place, a five-man swing entry with Celebrini leading the charge up ice.
It’s a notable adjustment, but the timing looked off. One entry was whistled for offsides, and the group struggled to generate clean zone time.
Still, there were glimpses. Celebrini rang one off the crossbar, and the forecheck from the second and third lines started to generate some zone pressure.
Quentin Musty hit the post shortly after. The Sharks were knocking - just not quite loud enough.
Askarov, meanwhile, delivered his best period in recent memory. Without him, San Jose could’ve easily been down two or three.
Second Period: Avalanche Take Control
The middle frame is where the game began to tilt decisively toward Colorado.
Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring after a breakdown on the forecheck. Alexander Wennberg was outmanned along the boards, and while John Klingberg and Daniil Gushchin were in the area, no one stepped up to help. It was a simple case of Colorado wanting the puck more - and getting it.
From that point on, the Avalanche controlled the pace. San Jose struggled to get clean exits, and when they did, they couldn’t string together enough passes to generate meaningful offense. The Sharks looked stuck in second gear, while the Avs were already in fifth.
Another power play chance came and went with little urgency. There was a nice no-look feed from Dmitry Orlov to Kurashev in the slot, but it was swallowed up by Blackwood. The puck movement was slow, and the execution lacked bite.
Lehkonen added another later in the period, this time off a Sharks turnover in the neutral zone. William Eklund had a chance to create something in the high slot but lost the handle, triggering a 3-on-2 the other way.
Eklund hustled to recover, Orlov got back to even the numbers, but no one picked up Lehkonen trailing the play. That was likely Easton Misa’s assignment - a costly miss.
By the end of the period, the shot count read 31-12 in favor of Colorado. That about summed it up.
Third Period: Too Little, Too Late
Credit to the Sharks - they didn’t fold.
Timothy Liljegren got the comeback effort started with a blast from the point after a clean zone entry. The play started with a sharp exit pass from Klingberg to Wennberg, threading it just past a forechecker. Wennberg carried it in, dished it low to high, and Liljegren hammered it home - possibly with a deflection en route.
Then came a moment of brilliance from Kurashev. He picked off a pass from Samuel Girard, turned on the jets, and broke in alone.
As Daniil Gushchin drove the middle and drew attention, Kurashev took the space and beat Blackwood clean. Just like that, it was a one-goal game.
The Sharks were buzzing. Sherwood made a diving play to force Cale Makar out of the zone.
Celebrini hit Smith with a slick bounce pass off the wall that led to a clean look. Then came a sequence that showed the kind of fire San Jose needs more of - Celebrini stripped MacKinnon on the backcheck, only for MacKinnon to return the favor.
Sherwood followed that up with a heavy shot off a turnover. The intensity was finally there.
Celebrini rang another one off the post with nine minutes left. Wennberg nearly set up Orlov on a rush chance. The Sharks were pushing - they looked like the team that wanted to dictate pace.
But then Josh Manson crushed that momentum with a laser from the point. Askarov had played an outstanding game, but that one beat him clean. A tough pill to swallow, especially considering how well he’d battled all night.
Zach Nelson sealed it with an empty-netter. Celebrini had one last look off a faceoff, but missed high and wide.
Takeaways:
- Yaroslav Askarov was the biggest reason this game stayed close for as long as it did. His first-period performance set the tone, and even in the third, he gave the Sharks a chance to rally.
- Macklin Celebrini showed flashes - the crossbar, the bounce pass to Smith, the backcheck on MacKinnon - but also struggled with precision at times.
He’s being hounded by top defenders every night, and tonight was no different.
- Philipp Kurashev continues to be a bright spot. His goal was pure determination, and his ability to create off turnovers is becoming a real asset.
- The Sharks’ power play needs more urgency. The new entry strategy is a step in the right direction, but the execution has to catch up. Too often, they’re slow to set up and even slower to shoot.
- The gap between these two teams was clear for long stretches. Colorado’s speed and structure overwhelmed San Jose, especially in the second period. The Sharks showed fight late, but they’ll need more than that to hang with the league’s elite.
Next Up: San Jose heads to Edmonton, looking to recapture the energy they had the last time they faced the Oilers. If they can bottle up that third-period effort and extend it over 60 minutes, they’ll give themselves a shot.
But until then, this one goes down as another tough lesson - and a reminder of how far there still is to climb.