Pavelski’s Victorious Return! Sharks defeat Avalanche Game #7
Joe Pavelski #8, Tomas Hertl #48 and Brent Burns #88 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates after Pavelski scored a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 8, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
2019.05.08 – Captain Joe Pavelski made a victorious return from a gruesome head injury by posting a goal and an assist in the first period that helped send the San Jose Sharks into the Western Conference final with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 on Wednesday night.
“I got to watch these guys play for six games. They gave a lot of motivation for me,” Pavelski said. “They were there for me. I wanted to come out and give them a good game as well. There wasn’t going to be one guy who won this game and there wasn’t. It was a big group effort out there.”
Sharks vs Avalanche 2019 Game #7 WCR2 Video Highlights (See blog below)
2019.05.08 (Sharks vs. Avalanche) Game #7 WCR2 – Shark Advance, bring the St. Louis Blues – See blog below
Pavelski was positioned just a few feet away from the spot where he was bleeding from his head on the ice just over two weeks ago when he did what he has done so often in his brilliant career. The captain got his stick on a shot that he redirected into the net to give the San Jose Sharks a Game 7 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Sharks got their captain back and are moving on to the Western Conference final.
But no one was more important than Pavelski, who inspired the crowd and carried his team to another Game 7 victory after the epic comeback in the first round against Vegas following his injury. He scored the first goal and assisted on Tomas Hertl’s goal as the Sharks advanced to their fourth conference final this decade.
“He played unbelievable for a guy that missed playoff action for two weeks,” teammate Logan Couture said. “To have the injuries that he has, coming back, and set up a goal, scored a goal. I wish I could tell you what he’s gone through from seeing it firsthand. You wouldn’t believe that he’s playing right now, let’s just say that. He played unbelievable.”
Joonas Donskoi ended a 39-game goal drought, Martin Jones made 14 of his 27 saves in the third period and the Sharks capitalized on a favorable replay review that negated a potential game-tying goal by Colorado in the second period.
Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost scored for the Avalanche, who were trying to make their first conference final since 2002. Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves.
“We set high expectations for ourselves and we came up a little bit short,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Our guys worked every day to try to fulfill our expectations of our group. It was a real good series, but they were the better team for too big a portion of tonight’s game and they won and they deserved to win.”
The excitement started early at the Shark Tank with the fans cheering loudly when Pavelski stepped out for warmups for his first game back since his bloody concussion in Game 7 of the first round against Vegas.
There was a deafening roar when Pavelski was announced as a starter and the entire first period became a lovefest for San Jose’s captain in what could be his final home game with the Sharks before he can be a free agent this summer.
Pavelski took less than six minutes to provide more than just inspiration. He deflected Brent Burns’ point shot past Grubauer for the opening goal of the game and celebrated with an exaggerated fist pump.
“You know, you’re almost speechless,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “Many people in the building, a lot of them saw the injury. I don’t think you saw the recovery and what he went through and how questionable it was whether he would even be able to be out there tonight. … He’s a special player, a special guy.”
Pavelski then set up Hertl with a pass from behind the net to make it 2-0 midway through the period and drew a penalty that nearly led to a power-play goal later in the period as the Avalanche struggled early.
Colorado lost star Nathan MacKinnon early in the first when his shoulder crashed into the boards, but his return after getting an injection late in the period helped spark the Avalanche. He created a couple of scoring chances and Colorado then converted with MacKinnon on the ice in the closing seconds of the period when Rantanen deflected a point shot from Samuel Girard with 6.8 seconds remaining in the first.
The Avalanche appeared to tie the game midway through the second when MacKinnon set up Colin Wilson, but DeBoer challenged the play for offside. The play was overturned because captain Gabriel Landeskog was still in the zone as he went off the ice on a line change.
“It’s a clumsy mistake,” Landeskog said. “If I could’ve done something different on that play, I would have jumped the boards a lot quicker.”
The Sharks then restored the two-goal lead later in the period when Donskoi skated around the net and beat Grubauer high to the short side for his first goal since Jan. 10.
Colorado pushed hard in the third, getting a goal in the first minute from Jost, but the Sharks managed to hold on from there for the win.
NOTES: The Sharks won multiple Game 7s in the same postseason for the first time in franchise history. The last team to advance to the conference finals with two Game 7 wins was St. Louis in 2016. The Blues were eliminated by the Sharks. … Colorado F Matt Calvert remained sidelined with an upper-body injury. The Avalanche again dressed seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
NEXT: San Jose will now play St. Louis in a conference final match-up between two successful teams seeking their first championship. Game 1 is Saturday night in San Jose.
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Jose Sharks, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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Landeskog scores in OT, Avalanche beat Sharks 4-3 Game #6
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) is congratulated by teammates Samuel Girard (49), Nathan MacKinnon (29) and Cale Makar (8) after scoring a game-winning, overtime goal against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, Monday, May 6, 2019, in Denver. Colorado won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
2019.05.06 – The Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Monday night to force a decisive Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Captain Gabriel Landeskog scored 2:32 into overtime after Colorado squandered a late lead in regulation.
Landeskog’s first career overtime playoff goal was a bit complicated: Dump in the puck, hit a guy along the boards, fall down, scramble back up, skate toward the net and knock it in.
The captain’s reaction right after was not — a big, toothy grin with arms raised to greet eager teammates.
“To do that, on home ice, it’s very exciting,” Landeskog said. “I haven’t been happy with my offensive output this time of year. I haven’t been dangerous enough.”
Sharks vs Avalanche – 2019 WCR2 Game #6 – Video Highlights
2019.05.06 (Sharks vs. Avalanche) WCR2 Game #6 – See blog below
He was certainly a danger on the final play. Landeskog charged after a puck he banged into the zone and then hit Erik Karlsson with enough force to knock off the Sharks defenseman’s helmet. Landeskog got back up, took the pass from rookie defenseman Cale Makar and sent it by Martin Jones to help the Avalanche escape elimination.
The Sharks are 7-4 all-time in Game 7s, including an overtime win over Vegas in the first round, while the Avalanche have a 4-6 mark since relocating to the Mile High City.
“Sixty minutes away from a Western Conference final,” Landeskog said. “Who would have thought before the season? … The last thing they wanted to do was play another one in San Jose. We accomplished step No. 1 and now we have to regroup and win another one.”
J.T. Compher scored twice and had an assist, while Tyson Jost added another goal.
Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves, including a pad save on Tomas Hertl early in OT.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored twice, including the tying goal off the skate of an Avalanche defenseman with 2:28 remaining, and Brent Burns added another for the Sharks, who overcame one-goal deficits on three occasions.
“We were positive. We felt like we could win this game,” Sharks forward Logan Couture said. “We just needed a little bit more. We needed a little bit more people involved in the game.”
This has been a back-and-forth series. San Jose captured Game 1 and the two have alternated wins the rest of the way. The combined score in the series is 17-16 in favor of the Sharks.
“It’s been punch, counter-punch, punch,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “What did they do tonight that we didn’t do? They found a way to get an extra goal.”
Colorado has been playing desperate hockey since late in the regular season just trying to sneak into the playoffs. The team went 8-0-2 down the stretch to secure the eighth seed. The Avs haven’t lost back-to-back games since mid-March.
“Every game was kind of an elimination game for us, so to speak,” defenseman Erik Johnson said.
The last time Colorado won Game 6 when facing a 3-2 deficit was the 2002 conference semifinals, which also happened to be against San Jose. The Avalanche then knocked off the Sharks 1-0 at home in Game 7.
Nathan MacKinnon nearly gave Colorado a 4-2 advantage late in the game, but his attempt was deflected away by the stick of Burns. Soon after, Vlasic tied it up when he banked a shot off the right skate of Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Colorado took a goal lead on two separate occasions in the second period, only to have the Sharks tie it right back up. After Jost scored, Vlasic answered. And after Compher’s goal, Burns responded with 9.8 seconds left.
It was a painful second period for Mikko Rantanen, who took a hip check from Burns in the right hip/thigh area. Rantanen immediately went to the bench and into the locker room. Rantanen gingerly returned about 4 minutes later.
Colorado hit two posts in a scoreless first period. Jones has surrendered just one goal to Colorado in the opening period all series.
Sharks captain Joe Pavelski made another step toward a return as he went through drills Monday at Pepsi Center. He’s been out since his head slammed against the ice in Game 7 of a first-round series against Vegas.
“It still really is day-to-day,” Pavelski said. “Wish I had a set-in-stone answer — go here, do this and be ready. We’re taking everything into play.”
NOTES: Karlsson had his 12th assist of the 2019 postseason. … DeBoer on no penalties being called after midway through the second period: “The whistles were in the pockets. What are you going to do?” … Avalanche F Matt Calvert missed a second straight game with an upper body injury.
UP NEXT
Game 7 of the series Wednesday in San Jose.
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Jose Sharks, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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Hertl scores 2 to lead Sharks past Avalanche in Game #5
San Jose Sharks’ Tomas Hertl, right, scores a goal in front of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) during the third period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Saturday, May 4, 2019, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
2019.05.04 – Tomas Hertl scored his second goal of the game at 6:26 of the third period, and the San Jose Sharks past the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at SAP Center.
As loud as the Shark Tank got following Tomas Hertl’s two goals, the roar was even more deafening when injured captain Joe Pavelski emerged from the tunnel to wave a towel for the fans in the third period.
“That was as loud as this building gets,” forward Logan Couture said of the ovation for Pavelski about a minute after Hertl’s tie-breaking goal in the third period. “That was a pretty cool moment. I had goose bumps on the ice.”
Sharks vs Avalanche – 2019 WCR2 Game #5 – Video Highlights
2019.05.04 (Sharks vs. Avalanche) WCR2 Game #5 – See blog below
Pavelski made his first public appearance since his head slammed against the ice and he was helped off with a bloody concussion in Game 7 of the first round against Vegas. The Sharks rallied around their captain by scoring four goals on the ensuing power play to erase a three-goal deficit and eventually advancing with an overtime win.
Pavelski got back on the ice skating earlier this week and coach Peter DeBoer said he’s getting “closer” to making a return to the lineup that would likely lead to even louder cheers than he got during this game.
“I didn’t know it was going to happen but a give-you-a-chill type moment. That type of ovation,” DeBoer said. “Our coaching staff would give him the same kind of ovation when we find out he’s back.”
But in order to increase those chances, the Sharks will need more games like this where they controlled the play for almost the entire game and rode the strong play from Hertl, Couture, defensemen Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and goalie Martin Jones to a win.
Hertl tied the game with a power-play goal in the final minute of the second period and then delivered the go-ahead score with 13:34 remaining in the third for his first two goals of the series after recording six in the first round.
“If you have tough game you have to just let it go,” Hertl said. “I know I can play really good. … I know the team needs me and I have to step it up. I try to every night.”
The Sharks will look to clinch the series in Game 6 on Monday night in Colorado.
Tyson Jost scored the lone goal for the Avalanche, who were on their heels for most of the night. Philipp Grubauer made 37 saves.
Hertl was the beneficiary of sustained offensive pressure for his tie-breaking goal early in the third. Joonas Donskoi made a deft stick handling move to get the puck to Vlasic, who put a shot on net. Hertl was parked in front and was able to knock in the rebound.
Jones made it stand up, stopping Tyson Barrie twice at point-blank range as part of a 21-save night. San Jose held Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon to one shot on goal and ended his points streak at eight games.
“After they got that lead, we just couldn’t find a way to get enough pressure toward the net,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We had some looks, but it wasn’t enough desperation in our O-zone playing I don’t think.”
The Sharks came out with far more energy than they had in the Game 4 loss in Colorado, putting eight of the first nine shots on net and appearing to take a 1-0 lead on Kevin Labanc’s shot from the slot. But trailing referee Tim Peel was signaling for a high stick on Timo Meier before the puck went in the net, negating the goal.
Both goalies then came up with big saves late in a physical period that featured plenty of hits and a few scrums. Jones robbed Matt Nieto on one end and Grubauer made two tough stops on the power play against Hertl.
“I’m not going to over analyze this. I thought we got outworked,” coach Jared Bednar said. “I felt that they were more competitive than us.”
The Sharks didn’t let up in the second and were out-shooting the Avalanche 27-13 just after killing back-to-back penalties only to give up the first goal of the game on an unfortunate bounce. Jones stopped J.T. Compher off the rush and Brent Burns tried to clear the rebound from in front but knocked it off Jost and into the net for a goal instead.
That sapped some energy out of the crowd that was brought back a couple of minutes later when Hertl deflected Couture’s shot from the top circle for a power-play goal with 19.4 seconds left. That ended a scoring drought of 100:10 for San Jose in the series.
NOTES: The Sharks lost all 20 games in the regular season when scoring two or fewer goals but have won twice in the playoffs, including a 2-1 double OT win in Game 6 last round. … Donskoi returned to San Jose’s lineup after missing the past five games with an undisclosed injury. Lukas Radil was scratched. … Avalanche F Matt Calvert (upper body) was scratched for the second time in three games. Sven Andrighetto returned to the lineup.
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Jose Sharks, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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Back to Even – Avalanche beat Sharks WCR2 Game #4
Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche advances the puck against Logan Couture #39 of the San Jose Sharks in the second period during Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on May 2, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
2019.05.02 – Nathan MacKinnon kept up his scoring spree with a second-period goal, and the Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0 so back to even in the Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.
“Huge,” Grubauer said. “The longer we can keep the zero up there the better it is, and the better chance we have to win.”
MacKinnon now has at least a point in eight straight games. It’s the longest streak by an Avalanche player in the postseason since Peter Forsberg had a point in eight straight in 2002.
Sharks vs Avalanche – 2019 WCR2 Game #4 – Video Highlights
2019.05.02 (Sharks vs. Avalanche) WCR2 Game #4 – See blog below
Colin Wilson gave Colorado a two-goal cushion with a power-play goal early in the third period. Wilson’s score was set up by a between-the-legs pass from Mikko Rantanen, who registered two assists. Erik Johnson added an empty-netter with 1:09 remaining.
The chants of “Gruuuu” by the crowd only grew louder with every save Grubauer made. He turned back nine shots in the final period.
“We needed to win this game and he was unreal,” Rantanen said.
In an attempt to bottle up the speedy MacKinnon, the Sharks kept rolling out their top defensive pair of Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. MacKinnon rarely had a moment when he wasn’t shadowed.
Still, he found ways to shake free, including in the second period when the puck bounced off goaltender Martin Jones and into the air. MacKinnon was on the spot, taking one whack at it and then another to send it past Jones (“just cleaned up garbage, nothing really,” he said). It was his sixth goal in this postseason.
“I love it as a coach because I don’t think you’re going to be dancing around and making a bunch of high-skilled plays in traffic and score the highlight-reel goal that’s going tic-tac-toe,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I don’t see that happening. If you look at the goals that are scored in this series, guys are shooting, there’s traffic. Both goals were the exact same way.”
About that pass to Wilson, just how did Rantanen even see him?
“In the corner of my eye,” Rantanen said. “Jones had pretty good position on me and trying to stuff it through his pads wasn’t going to work for me. (Wilson) was in a good spot and it was a good goal.”
For much of the night, Jones matched Grubauer’s performance. Jones gave the Sharks every opportunity to take command of their second round series and set up a chance to eliminate the Avalanche at home this weekend. He finished with 25 saves.
“We’re disappointed, for sure. It was a good opportunity for us,” Jones said. “But it’s supposed to be tough.”
It didn’t happen, although Jones kept his team in it through the first two periods. Even on MacKinnon’s goal, he made the first save.
A Cale Makar shot from the point was redirected on net by Mikko Rantanan. The puck hit Jones in the chest, but the rebound went to his right. MacKinnon was behind Brent Burns and batted the puck in to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at the 10:34 mark of the second. MacKinnon now has a point in eight straight playoff games, in which he’s had six goals and seven assists.
One of Grubauer’s top stops was near the end of the second period with Gustav Nyquist on the breakaway. Grubauer went into a full-out stretch in order to thwart Nyquist with his right pad.
The Sharks out-shot the Avalanche 9-3 over the last seven-plus minutes of the second period, but couldn’t get anything by Grubauer, who had 23 saves after 40 minutes.
“We had some good looks,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “I thought we could have made it tougher on him.”
Grubauer and the Avs defense found a way to corral Logan Couture, the leading goal scorer in the postseason who was coming off a hat trick in Game 3.
This may be an encouraging development for the Sharks: Captain Joe Pavelski returned to skating. He was on the ice in San Jose on Wednesday, with Pete DeBoer hearing “positive things” from the session.
Pavelski was hurt in Game 7 of the Vegas series when his helmet slammed to the ice. He’s yet to play in this series.
And while he’s has been on the minds of his teammates, DeBoer didn’t buy into the notion that Pavelski could be a rallying force for his team.
“This isn’t a ‘Rudy’ story,” DeBoer said.
The Sharks came into Thursday in an ideal situation — to go up 3-1 in the series with a chance to close out the Avalanche in Game 5 back in San Jose on Saturday. Instead, the series is now a best-of-3, with no team being able to carry momentum from one game to the next.
“These, for me, are the crossroad-type games where you can really take control of a series if you can come up and not take your foot off the gas,” Sharks coach DeBoer said Wednesday. “And that’s got to be on us.”
NOTES: Sharks F Joonas Donskoi (undisclosed injury) hasn’t played in the Colorado series. … Avs F Matt Calvert returned after missing Game 3 with an upper-body injury. … There was a moment of silence for the late Red Kelly, the defenseman-turned-center whose Hall of Fame career included eight Stanley Cups while playing for Detroit and Toronto. He died Thursday at 91. … Grubauer is the first German-born goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the second of German nationality to accomplish the feat, joining Olie Kolzig (six). … Rookie defenseman Cale Makar recorded his fourth assist of the postseason. … MacKinnon and Rantanen each have 13 points in the postseason.
RELATED: Couture’s Playoff Hat Trick, Sharks beat Avalanche Game #3
UP NEXT
Game 5 is Saturday in San Jose.
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Jose Sharks, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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