Sharks Lose To Avalanche In Shootout
DENVER (CBS / AP) -- Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves, Gabriel Landeskog scored the decisive goal in a shootout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Matt Duchene, Stefan Elliott and Daniel Winnik had regulation goals for the Avalanche. Milan Hejduk also scored in the shootout.
Antti Niemi made 30 saves, Dan Boyle had a goal and an assist and Jamie McGinn and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks. San Jose is 2-5-2 in its last nine games.
Hejduk scored on the first attempt of the shootout and Joe Pavelski tied it in the third round. Landeskog beat Niemi in the fifth round before Varlamov stopped Brad Winchester to end it.
San Jose trailed 3-2 late and pressed for the equalizer, getting it with 22 seconds left. With Niemi off for an extra skater, Marleau chipped in a pass from Logan Couture to send the game into overtime.
Duchene made it 3-2 with his 11th goal of the season with 8:09 left.
Winnik made it 2-all with his fourth goal of the season and his first since Nov. 4. He grabbed Erik Johnson's rebound in front of Niemi, skated around the back of the net and stuffed the puck into the open goal with 13:29 left in regulation.
San Jose tied it early in the second on a power play. With TJ Galiardi off for high sticking, Boyle sent a shot toward the Colorado net and McGinn tipped it past Varlamov at the 3:16 mark.
It was McGinn's seventh goal of the season.
Boyle gave the Sharks the lead with his second goal of the season. He pinched in, picked up Pavelski's rebound between the circles and beat Varlamov with a wrist shot with 6:21 left in the second period.
Elliott broke a scoreless tie with a great individual effort late in the first period. The rookie picked up the puck in the Colorado end, skated through the Sharks defense and beat Niemi with a shot from the right circle with 16.6 seconds left. It was Elliott's third goal of the season.
The teams generated few quality chances before Elliott's goal.
Both clubs had 11 shots on goal in the period.
Notes: Colorado C Paul Stastny was back in the lineup after missing three games with a torso injury. ... The Sharks' power-play goal was their first in five games and second in the last nine.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
