A six-game homestand started on a positive note Thursday as the San Jose Sharks rallied past the visiting Colorado Avalanche 5-4. Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture registered goals in the third period after San Jose appeared to be headed toward an eighth loss in the past 10 games. San Jose erased a 4-2 deficit after two periods with a three-goal outburst in the final period.
Marty Havlat’s forecheck led to a steal and set-up for the Burns goal at the seven-minute mark. San Jose left it at 4-4 when Pavelski notched his team-high 13th goal of the year at 8:29. Joe Thornton’s soft feed from behind the goalline set up Jason Demers for a shot on net. Pavelski, posted at the edge of the crease, jammed the short rebound under goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Patrick Marleau.whipped a shot on net from the top of the left circle in search of his 12th goal of the year. Couture was able to redirect the shot over Varlamov’s left shoulder, netting Couture his 12th of the year and leaving Marleau with his 11th assist.
The Sharks, 16-10-3 on the year with an eighth-place hold in the Western Conference, had a 1-0 lead before a pair of Avalanche power play goals turned the momentum away from the hosts in the first period.
San Jose opened the scoring with Ryane Clowe’s seventh goal of the season 2:30 into action.
Varlamov tried to send of clearing pass to defenseman Ryan O’Byrne at the right boards. Instead, an advancing Couture intercepted the pass and drove a shot on net that Varlamov send into the slot. Clowe was unmarked and lined the puck inside the left post for the 1-0 lead.
The Avalanche scored on both power play chances in the first period, needing 33 seconds for the tying goal and 59 seconds of power play time for the go-ahead tally.
When Marleau was whistled off the ice for holding at 5:18, Paul Stastny scored the first of his two goals on the night at 5:51. Stastny won an offensive-zone face-off at 5:48, pulling the puck back to Erik Johnson. The Avalanche defenseman lined a low shot from the left point toward the net that Stastny deflected past Shark netminder Antti Niemi for the equalizer.
After San Jose mustered only two shots in a power play in the first period, Colorado grabbed a 2-1 lead with Ryan O’Reilly’s seventh goal of the year with 10.3 seconds left in the first. Brent Burns earned a high-stick call at 18:50. O’Reilly was open at the low slot to put back a rebound of a Stefan Elliott shot.
The Sharks responded with a goal 1:12 into the second period. Havlat sparked the scoring chance by stealing the puck behind the net. Halvat’s feed to Michal Handzus resulted in a point-blank shot past Varlamov.
The Avalanche secured the game’s next two goals for a 4-2 cushion after two periods. Stastny’s backhander from five feet out made it 3-2 with 3:01 gone in the period. Daniel Winnik followed with his fifth of the year from almost the same spot on the ice at 18:21.
Following this two-week respite from road games, the Sharks have a four-game and two three-game homestands left on the season. The remainder of the home schedule consists of two-game and one-game runs at HP Pavilion.
