San Jose Sharks gets blown out by the Colorado Avalanche 7-3 at the Ball Center in Denver on Thu Mar 6, 2025 (San Jose Sharks X photo)
By Mary Walsh
The San Jose Sharks fell 7-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Joel Kiviranta, Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin, Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood made 31 saves for the win against his former team. Fabian Zetterlund, Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund scored for the Sharks. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves in the loss to his former team.
The first goal of the game was a short-handed one from Colorado. Joel Kiviranta scored it at 4:19 of the first period. Cale Makar knocked the puck away from Macklin Celebrini in the Sharks’ zone. Kiviranta carried it all the way to the other end for the shot.
A few minutes later, Colorado scored on the power play. Skating in from the blue line, Cale Makar caught a pass from Jonathan Drouin and scored on Georgiev’s stick side. Assists went to Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon.
Fabian Zetterlund got one back for the Sharks, on the power play at 10:08. Lurking just outside the blue paint, Zetterlund rediretced a shot from Collin Graf behi8nd Blackwood.
Jonathan Drouin made it 3-1 in the last three seconds of the period. Martin Necas passed the puck through the blue paint to Drouin for the goal. An assist also went to Artturi Lehkonen.
Martin Necas scored another power play goal just 40 seconds into the second period. Cale Makar set up the slap shot for Necase. An assist also went to MacKinnon.
Nathan MacKinnon scored the first even strength goal of the game at 10:54 of the second. Cale Makar shot it in and it went wide, then off of the backboards. It boucned right to MacKinnon next to the goal mouth for a snap shot. Assists went to Makar and Josh Manson.
In the final second of the second period, Keaton Middleton put the puck in the net but it was called off due to goaltender interference. It would have been Middleton’s first NHL goal.
MacKinnon scored another even strength goal at 5:21 of the third period to make it 6-1. On a rebound, the puck came right to MacKinnon as he skated to the net. Lehkonen and Makar got the assists.
Macklin Celebrini scored one for the Sharks at 8:10, putting the puck in the top of the net on a power play. It was Celebrini’s 20th goal for the season. Assists went to Will Smith and William Eklund.
Cale Makar restored the five-goal lead with a wrist shot less than a minute after Celebrini’s goal.
William Eklund scored the third Sharks goal at 17:24, the Sharks’ first even strength goal of the game. Three Colorado players were trying to corral the puck right in front of the blue paint. Eklund slid in between them and poked it into the net. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg.
Colorado out-shot the Sharks 13-9 in the first period. In the second period, it was 13-6 Colorado. In the third period the Sharks made a push, out-shooting Colorado 19-6.
The Sharks next play on Saturday back in San Jose against the New York Islanders at 7:00 PM PT.
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