Tag: Josh Manson

Sharks Fall 4-2 to Avalanche, Losing Streak at 4 Going Into Olympic Break

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San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (left) puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltenter MacKenzie Blackwood in the second period at Ball Arena in Denver on Wed Feb 4, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday. Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson and Brock Nelson scored for the Avalanche. MacKenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for the win. Timothy Liljegren and Philipp Kurashev scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves in the loss. The loss and the three before it saw the Sharks plummet out of a playoff position.

In the final Sharks game before the Olympic break, Kiefer Sherwood made his debut in teal. He finished the game with one shot, one blocked shot, four hits and two penalty minutes. After the game, he discussed the team’s failure to start on time, despite a good effort in the third period: “The League’s too unforgiving to not play a full 60. So we’ll take the lesson and move on and be ready to get our work boots on the second half.”

Of the upcoming break, Sherwood said: “Our team needs a break. Obviously it comes at a good time. I know that was my first game so obviously I wish we’d get more. We’ll light the fire during break and come ready to rage in the second half.”

In a scoreless first period, the Avalanche outshot the Sharks 14 to 5. Each team took two penalties. The second period was Artturi Lehkonen’s time to shine. He scored the first goal at 1:05, a deflected shot from Valeri Nichushkin. An assist also went to Cale Makar.

His second goal came at 15:47, a snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Nichushkin.

Colorado outshot San Jose 17-8 in the second period, with one penalty to each team.

The Sharks tied the game early in the third period. Timothy Liljegren scored with a slap shot just 43 seconds in. Assists went to Alexander Wennberg and John Klingberg.

Philipp Kurashev tied it at 3:34 with a wrist shot after taking the puck from the neutral zone to the net.

During four-on-four play with Macklin Celebrini and Brent Burns in the box, Josh Manson scored with a slap shot at 12:44. Assists went to Nichushkin and MacKinnon.

Brock Nelson scored with a backhand into an empty net at 18:43.

After the NHL returns from the Olympic break, the Sharks will host the Calagry Flames on February 26 at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Buried by Avalanche, Shut Out 6-0

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Remember this guy in net that’s former San Jose Shark now Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood whose doing just fine between the pipes for Colorado delivering a shutout against his former team the Sharks at the Ball Center in Denver on Wed Nov 26, 2025 (AP new photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shut out 6-0 by the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. The win was the tenth in a row for the Avalanche. It was also the 12th loss in a row for the Sharks in Denver. Ross Colton, Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Malinski, Josh Manson, Joel Kiviranta and Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for the shut-out win. San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves on 23 shots in relief. Yaroslav Askarov made 15 saves on 19 shots before being relieved.

“We were chasing it, right from the drop of the puck. Fast, physical team. They put us on our heels early,” said Sharks Head Coach, Ryan Warsofsky. “We got waxed, they’re a great hockey team,” said Macklin Celebrini. “That’s the best team in the League and that’s where we want to be. So it just kind of shows how much work we’ve got to do and put in to get to that level,” said Sam Dickinson.

Ross Colton gave the Avallanche an early lead, just 3:39 into the game. Colton came out of a neutral-zone scramble with the puck, skated in and snapped the puck past Askarov.

Nathan MacKinnon doubled the lead with a power play goal in the final minute of the period. Cale Makar set up MacKinnon’s slap shot after Gabriel Landeskog won an offensive zone faceoff.

The Sharks took two penalties in the first, and were outshot 15-5 by the Avalanche.

San Jose seemed to push back to start the second period but were quickly overwhelmed by three goals in quick succession. The first came at 3:44, a shot from the blue line by Sam Malinski. That shot was made possible when Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas won the puck along the boards.

The next goal came from Josh Manson at 4:51. Manson’s shot came from the blue line and went through traffic in front of Askarov. Assists went to Victor Olofsson and Parker Kelly.

Alex Nedeljkovic replaced Askarov after that goal, only to give up one himself just nine seconds later. Zack Ostapchuk went to the left, pushing Zakhar Bardakov off the puck, but leaving Timothy Liljegren to face a two on one. Joel Kiviranta went around him and scored. Assists went to Ivan Ivan and Bardakov.

The Sharks opted to use their time out after that goal. That pause did not produce any goals but it did stem the bleeding. The Sharks took one penalty and drew three to finish the period. San Jose also outshot Colorado 15-11.

In the third period, Colorado pushed back. They outshot the Sharks 16-4. Each team took one penalty. Still, it was not until 16:15 of the period before the Avalanche scored again. Nathan MacKinnon carried the puck into the zone and then passed it to Artturi Lehkonen in the slot. An assist also went to Martin Necas.

The Sharks next play back in San Jose on Friday at 1:00 PM PT against the Vancouver Canucks.

Sharks Lose 3-1 to Avalanche, Ferraro Injured; SJ suffers eighth straight loss

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The Colorado Avalanche’s right winger Valeri Nichushkin (13) takes a shot as the San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun covers in the first period at the Ball Arena in Denver on Sun Dec 31, 2023 (AP News)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche Sunday night. Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin and Josh Manson scored for Colorado. Alexandar Georgiev made 10 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose and Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in the loss. It was the Sharks’ eighth loss in a row.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn recognized that his team was at a disadvantage, losing “our best defenseman five minutes into the game, playing a team that, you know, has a great chance to win the Stanley Cup.” Nonetheless, he saw some good in the Sharks game: “With our d-corps as young as we are, to hang in there against this team, I couldn’t be prouder of our team. Our goalie was outstanding. It’s 1-1 with five minutes to go and they get a … six-on-five goal and … an empty netter.”

The first goal of the game came on a Colorado power play at 6:58 of the first period. Nathan MacKinnon sent the puck across the ice low in the offensive zone. Mikko Rantanen was there to catch it and snap it over Kaapo Kahkonen. Assists went to MacKinnon and Nichushkin.

The Sharks had just three shots in that first period, while Colorado had ten. Additionally, midway through the first period, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro took a hit from Nathan MacKinnon that knocked him out of the game with an upper-body injury. The team gave no update on his status after the game.

The only penalty in the first period was the too many men call against the Sharks. By contrast, the second period saw a slew of penalties: interference, hi-sticking, slashing, hooking and a set of matching roughing penalties, distributed fairly evenly between the teams.

The Sharks tied the game during one of those penalties, scoring a power play goal at 16:53. Mikael Granlund’s pass found Tomas Hertl in the slot for a quick shot past the goaltender. Assists went to Granlund and Calen Addison. That was the Sharks’ eighth shot of the game, their fifth of the second period.

The Sharks held the game 1-1 until late in the third period, despite having no shots in the period until the final five minutes. Even then, they only had two shots in the third.

During a delayed penalty against the Sharks, Colorado took the lead at 16:31. Valeri Nichushkin scored from just above the goal line off a pass from Jack Johnson. Assists went to Johnson and MacKinnon.

The Sharks pulled Kahkonen during a late penalty and then kept him out during the final minute. The Avalanche missed a few shots at the empty net before Josh Manson finally got one in.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT against the Detroit Red Wings.