Game Preview: Avalanche at Sharks

COLORADO AVALANCHE (46-24-6) VS SAN JOSE SHARKS (22-39-16)
8:30 PM MT | SAP CENTER AT SAN JOSE
WATCH:ALTITUDELISTEN: 92.5FM/950 AM
The Colorado Avalanche take on the San Jose Sharks Thursday night for the second time this week. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. MT on Altitude Sports.

LAST TIME OUT

Colorado enters Thursday's matchup following a 4-3 overtime victory over the Sharks Tuesday night. Nathan MacKinnon tallied three points (2G, 1A) and scored the game winner in overtime all to reach the 100-point milestone for the first time in his career. Mikko Rantanen notched two assists and Evan Rodrigues and Jack Johnson both found the back of the net. Alexander Georgiev made 26 saves to help the Avs clinch their sixth-consecutive playoff berth.

HISTORY

Colorado owns a 59-40-12 all-time record against San Jose, with a 24-26-6 mark on the road.
Since the franchise moved to Denver in 1995-96, the Avs are 54-38-12 versus the Sharks.
Thursday's matchup is the third and final outing between the two teams this season. Colorado is 2-0-0 against San Jose this season. MacKinnon leads the Avs in the two prior outings against San Jose this season with five points (3G, 2A).

SCOUTING THE SHARKS

Erik Karlsson paces San Jose in scoring this season with 96 points (22G, 74A) in 77 games. Logan Coture is second with 66 points (27G, 39A).
Karlsson ranks third in the NHL in assists with 74 and leads all NHL blueliners in points, goals and assists this season.

LINEUP UPDATES

Avalanche

Pavel Francouz Lower body
Gabriel LandeskogLower body
Josh Manson Lower body
Artturi Lehkonen Upper body
Cale MakarLower body
Darren Helm Lower body

Sharks

Alexander BarabanovLower body
William EklundUpper body
Jonah GadjovichUpper body
Andreas JohnssonLower body
Luke KuninLower body
Oskar LindblomUpper body
Markus NutivaaraLower body
Jeffrey VielUpper body

DOING THE MOST

MacKinnon ranks third in all-time franchise scoring with 40 points (17G, 23A) against the Sharks.
Rantanen has averaged 1.15 points (11G, 12A) in 20 games versus San Jose.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Coture has recorded 34 points (12G, 22A) in 44 games against the Avs, which ranks third all time for the Sharks franchise versus Colorado.

NUMBERS GAME

100
MacKinnon's three point performance helped him reach the 100 point mark on the season for the first time in his career. He's the first Avalanche player to record 100 points since Joe Sakic in 2006-07 and joins Sakic and Peter Forsberg as the only players to reach the century mark since the franchise relocated to Denver.
94
Rantanen established a new career high in points after notching two assists against the Sharks on Tuesday night. His previous best was 92 points set in 2021-21.
19th
Georgiev picked up his 19th road win of the season, surpassing David Aebischer (18 in 2003-04) for the most road wins in a season in franchise history. He is 20-5-2 in his last 27 starts and 15-4-1 in his last 20 outings.

QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK

"We're facing our share of adversity, but the guys that are healthy and able to play are digging in and playing hard as a team. I guess that's all you can ask for. We're wishing the best for ourselves when it comes to some guys returning from injury. But again, other guys are stepping up and finding ways to get the job done, and that's all you can ask." - Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on clinching a playoff spot