Avalanche win Game 6 against Sharks in OT, avoid elimination

DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog scored at 2:32 of overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche avoided elimination with a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Pepsi Center on Monday.

Landeskog chipped the puck in from the slot after Cale Makar kept it in the Sharks zone at the right point and played it toward the net.
The best-of-7 series is tied with Game 7 at San Jose on Wednesday.
WATCH: [Sharks vs. Avalanche Game 6 highlights | Complete series coverage]
"Never had an OT goal in the playoffs before, so to do that on home ice, no doubt is very exciting," said Landeskog, who has three goals in 11 games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. "And for me, as I said before, I haven't been happy with my offensive output this time of year, I haven't been dangerous enough, I haven't been a threat enough, so it was nice to definitely get this one tonight, and hopefully we can build off of this for Wednesday."
Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his second goal of the night for the Sharks with 2:28 left in the third period to tie the game 3-3. His shot from the left of the net hit off defenseman Nikita Zadorov's right skate in the crease.
San Jose came back from down a goal three times.
"That's good to see, but we couldn't finish it. ... They won it," Vlasic said. "We had a chance to finish them, and we didn't do it."

J.T. Compher had two goals and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves for the Avalanche, who will play their first Game 7 since 2014, when they lost 5-4 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
"It was a huge effort by our team tonight," Compher said. "We knew it was win or go home, and a bunch of guys stepped up tonight ... The plan was to force Game 7, and we were able to do that."
Brent Burns scored, and Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Sharks, who were 5-1 since 2016 with a chance to clinch a playoff series.
"We didn't play good enough to win this one," forward Timo Meier said. "We got to bring a better effort. It's a Game 7 now, we know want to do. It's going to be loud in our building, we're going to come out, and we're going to bring our best hockey."
Compher scored at 4:00 of the third period to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead.

Burns scored with a wrist shot with 10 seconds left in the second period to tie it 2-2.
Compher gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 18:44 of the second, scoring on a one-timer off a pass from Carl Soderberg.
"The depth guys, we have to step up when we can, and that's why this team is a great team all together," Compher said. "Guys are stepping up all over the place, and that's why we are in the spot we are in."
Vlasic tied the game 1-1 at 14:36 of the second when he scored on the rebound of a Meier shot. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar challenged for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice was upheld after video review.
"Two evenly matched teams," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "What did they do tonight that we didn't do? They found a way to get an extra goal."
Tyson Jost gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 4:05 of the second, converting a pass from Compher on a 2-on-1 rush.

They said it

"It's the exact same thing as today. Our mindset coming into this thing was we have to put our best foot forward, lay it all on the line and play one hockey game to the best of our ability. I thought we did that tonight." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
"This is a resilient group. They've shown that all year. We're excited about the opportunity and excited that it's at home in front of our fans." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"It's a great opportunity for us to ... 60 minutes away from the Western Conference Final. I mean, who would have thought [it] before the season, who would have thought [it] before this series ... We accomplished step No. 1 to win this one, now we've got to regroup and win another one." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog

Need to know

Vlasic has three goals in 11 games in the 2019 playoffs after he scored three in 72 regular-season games. ... The Avalanche are 3-0 in overtime in the playoffs. The Sharks are 2-1. ... The Sharks are 7-4 in Game 7 in their history, including a 5-4 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. ... The Avalanche are 4-6 in Game 7 since relocating from Quebec for the 1995-96 season. ... Sharks forward Joe Pavelski missed his sixth straight game with a head injury. He skated with the team before the game, but there is no timetable for his return. ... The teams have played each other in Game 7 once, a 1-0 win for Colorado in the 2002 Western Conference Semifinals.

What's next

Game 7 of Western Conference Second Round at SAP Center on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS)