On Thursday, March 6, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the San Jose Sharks in their final game before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday. The Avalanche were aiming for their fourth consecutive win, while the Sharks sought its third straight victory. Both goaltenders would be facing their old team, and it didn’t take long for the game to get out of hand, as the Avalanche won 7-3.
Game Recap
Martin Necas took a hooking penalty against Mario Ferraro, giving the Sharks an early power-play opportunity. Joel Kiviranta poked the puck past the blue line for a 2-on-1 breakaway and ripped it past Alexandar Georgiev to open the scoring. Ty Dellandrea was called for high-sticking Artturi Lehkonen, and the Avalanche went on the power play. Cale Makar capitalized, sending a heavy one-timer slap shot from Necas to make it 2-0. Devon Toews was called for tripping, sending the Sharks to their second power play, and converted when Fabian Zetterlund beat Mackenzie Blackwood with the help of a nifty cross-ice pass from Collin Graf, making it 2-1.
The calls continued to come in as Kiviranta took a tripping penalty. This sent the Sharks to their third power play of the period, but the Avalanche defended it well. Before the period ended, Dellandrea was called for a roughing penalty that saw him elbow Lindgren in the head. The Avalanche made them pay with a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal right before the period ended to make it 3-1.
The scoring in the second period came early as Drouin drew a penalty, and Necas capitalized right off the draw as he did his best Makar impression and rifled a one-timer from Makar to make it 4-1. It wasn’t long before the Avalanche headed to their fourth power play when Macklin Celebrini was called for hooking Nathan MacKinnon, but the Sharks killed the penalty. MacKinnon made it 5-1 as he buried Makar’s shot from the blue line that went wide.
The Sharks tried to get some energy back as Josh Manson was called for holding but came up empty on the power play. Casey Mittelstadt’s shot was tipped in front by Keaton Middleton and secured his first career NHL goal, but the referee immediately called the goal off as they called for goaltender interference on Ross Colton, ending the period still 5-1.
MacKinnon continued to score goals, scoring his second of the game from a crafty pass from Lehkonen, making it 6-1. Middleton took a hooking penalty, and Celebrini, on one knee, sent a shot to the top right corner to make it 6-2. Makar sent a heat-seeking wrister across the blue line and in, making it 7-2. With three minutes left, William Eklund found a loose puck at the front of the net and made it 7-3 to finish the scoring.
Welcome to the Trade Deadline
The trade deadline is finally upon us, occurring on Friday, March 7, with the cutoff set for 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Over the past week, numerous rumors have circulated around the league. Just as one game was taking place, the Avalanche made a blockbuster deal, acquiring Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders in a significant trade package. It’s uncertain if more moves are on the horizon, but it is clear that the Avalanche are all-in this season for another deep run.
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