Avalanche and Sharks Face Off in Game 2 Matinee

The Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks clash in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinals series on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center. The Avalanche trail San Jose 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Following the outing, the clubs will head to Denver to continue the series at Pepsi Center for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche took the first lead of the game and was on top 2-1 early in the second period but fell to the Sharks 5-2 on Friday night's series opener. Gabriel Bourque notched his first marker of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to start the scoring for Colorado, and Colin Wilson added a power-play goal. The Sharks were paced by Brent Burns' four-point (one goal, three assists) performance and two points each from Marcus Sorensen (two assists) and Joe Thornton (one goal, one assist). Thornton became the 24th player in NHL history and third active player to record at least 100 career postseason assists.

What To Watch

Shots Fired
Colorado's 28 shots on goal in Friday night's game was its fewest since Game 1 of its first-round series against the Calgary Flames, a 4-0 loss. The Avalanche rebounded to win the next four contests of that series and averaged nearly 45 shots per game through the remaining matchups of the first round, including two outings in which Colorado peppered Flames goaltender Mike Smith with 50 or more shots. The Avs still lead all playoff teams with 38.8 shots per game, the club's highest shots-per-game average in a postseason since relocating to Denver.
The Man Advantage
One of Colorado's tallies in Game 1 came on the power play, as the Avalanche finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage. The Avalanche has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its last four outings, going 6-for-20 (30 percent) over that span.

Players To Watch

Colorado: Center/Left Wing Colin Wilson
Wilson notched his third goal of the playoffs on Friday night, his most markers in a single postseason since 2016 when he had five with Nashville. Wilson has totaled five points so far in the playoffs, tied for third on the team with Tyson Barrie.
San Jose: Defenseman Brent Burns
Burns had a career night in Game 1 with four points (one goal, three assists) to become the first Sharks defenseman to collect at least 50 playoff points (17 goals, 34 assists). The veteran defenseman also leads all players in the 2019 postseason in time on ice, averaging 30:05 per game.

The Details

Game 2 of the second-round series between the Avs and the Sharks begins at 5:30 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live on NBC Sports Network in the United States and will be televised on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. The radio broadcast can be heard locally on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.
The official Colorado Avalanche Watch Party for Game 2 is being hosted at Sports Column in downtown Denver. Mascot Bernie and the Ram Trucks Avalanche Ice Girls will be in attendance, and fans will have the chance to win prizes, including tickets to Games 3 and 4 and autographed items.
Danielle Bernstein contributed this story