Postgame Wrap-Up: First Two Periods Cost Avs in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif.--The Colorado Avalanche finished its game at the San Jose Sharks with a strong third period on Friday, but the first 40 minutes proved to be the deciding factor.
The Avs scored twice in the final frame of regulation to make it a one-goal game but fell 4-3 to the Sharks at SAP Center.

"We weren't good enough for 40 minutes," said head coach Jared Bednar. "Third period--we were hungry, we were getting pucks to the net, taking pucks to the net. We had a better intent to shoot the puck and get traffic there. The Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen line had a chance probably three or four shifts in a row, and then we have the one with Carl (Soderberg) in the slot at the end of the game, so we did some really good things.
"I can rattle off chances in the third period and I am trying to think of some scoring chances we had in the first 40 minutes, they were few and far between. We have to be ready to play with that intensity right from the drop of the puck. Not that it was poor, we had a good commitment to check, but we didn't do enough on the offensive side of it."
San Jose outshot Colorado 27-13 through the opening stanzas, but the third period only gave the Sharks a 13-12 advantage in the category.

Defenseman Nikita Zadorov scored the Avalanche's only goal through the first two frames for his seventh of the season, matching his career high from the 2017-18 campaign. His marker made it 2-1, but San Jose re-extended its lead to two tallies after a long shift in the defensive zone for the Avs.
"It was three minutes and 30-some seconds and that is on us. We didn't win enough races and then you get tired and you are kind of fighting to control," said Bednar. "We did a decent job for a long time there, we got some forwards out on the ice but we didn't get our D off. We didn't have the poise to get to a puck and just get it down the ice where we could put some pressure on it and get our defense off the ice."
Mikko Rantanen notched his 13th power-play goal of the season midway through the final stanza, surpassing his previous career best of 12 set during the 2017-18 campaign to set a new career high.

Rantanen is now tied for seventh in the league in man-advantage goals and ranks sixth in power-play points with 30. Colorado finished 1-for-2 with the extra skater on the ice and has scored a goal while on a power play in five of its last six outings, going 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) in that span.
"I think they played pretty good in the first two, they didn't give up a lot," Rantanen said of San Jose. "Then in the third, we had a step on them. We were playing like we were supposed to in the first two. Our urgency was up and stuff and we were creating chances, but just one short tonight."
Defenseman Samuel Girard also scored in the final period of play to tally his fourth goal of the year, matching his career high from his rookie campaign in 2017-18.

The Avs scored twice in the third period and have outscored their opponents 14-5 in the final frame of regulation over their last seven contests. Colorado now has 86 markers in the third period, ranked second in the league to the Calgary Flames (93).
"We have to have the chip on our shoulder right away, right off the bat," added Rantanen. "I don't think we were playing the same way in the first and second that we were playing in the third. Have the urgency in the first two periods as well and have a good start."
SHORT TRIP CONCLUDES SUNDAY: Colorado wraps up its two-game road trip against another Pacific Division team, as the Avs play at the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday afternoon.
It will be the 10th day game of the campaign for the Avalanche, which is 4-3-2 so far this season and has a 3-1-2 mark on the road in matinee outings.
The contest will also mark the second time this year that the Avs and Ducks have met. The first meeting also took place in Southern California, and Colorado scored with two seconds remaining in overtime to earn a 4-3 victory on Nov. 18.
The three-game season series between the Avalanche and Ducks will conclude on March 15 in Denver.
COLE RETURNS TO GAME ACTION:Defenseman Ian Cole returned to the Avs lineup against the Sharks after he missed 11 games with an upper-body injury that he sustained at the Washington Capitals on Feb. 7.
He began the game on a pairing with Nikita Zadorov and recorded one assist and a plus-1 rating in 20:16 of ice time.
"Great compete level, did some good things," head coach Jared Bednar said of Cole. "I am sure he will improve as he goes, but I liked his game coming back. He was involved physically, and he kind of picked up where he left off. I thought he was pretty good."
The 30-year-old rear guard has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) through 54 games this campaign and replaced rookie Ryan Graves on the blue line.
JOHNSON SKATES IN GAME 700:The Avalanche's Erik Johnson skated in his 700th NHL game, becoming the first defenseman from the 2006 NHL Draft to reach the mark.
"Obviously 700 seems like a lot when you first break into the league when you are 19," the blueliner said pregame. "Every 100 games you play is a good milestone and it goes by fast, you got to enjoy it and appreciate it. You never know how many you are going to be able to play, so you got to treat every day as a gift and a blessing."
Johnson is now the 47th U.S.-born defenseman to reach 700 games. He has registered 75 goals and 206 assists for 281 points during his NHL tenure.
MORE NOTES:Gabriel Landeskog recorded an assist on all three Colorado goals, the fourth time this season he's registered three or more points. His three helpers also match a career high, a feat he has accomplished three times, last doing so on March 15, 2018 at the St. Louis Blues.
Nathan MacKinnon finished with two shots to bring his season total to 284 and match his career high set during the 2017-18 campaign.
Zadorov had five shots on net in the loss, a season high, and now has three points (two goals, one assist) over his last four games.