Colorado Avalanche Nathan MacKinnon gets congratulated by the Avalanche bench after scoring in the second period against the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena in Denver on Sun Dec 17, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Mary Walsh
The San Jose Sharks were defeated 6-2 by the Colorado Avalanche Sunday. Colorado goals came from Valeri Nichushkin, Mikko Rantanen, Miles Wood, Ryan Johansen, and two from Nathan MacKinnon. Alexander Georgiev made 27 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl scored twice for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves in the loss.
The Sharks’ newest player, Jack Studnicka, made his debut Sunday. Studnicka was acquired Friday from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Sunday he had one shot, three hits and won 4 of 16 faceoffs in 12:18 time on the ice.
After the game, he described his performance as “Just okay. I didn’t really have my legs, it’s kind of been a whirlwind. That’s no excuse but it’s been a lot of travel recently. Some ok moments, some good moments, some moments I’ve got to work on.”
Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said, of Studnicka’s first game: “Tough game to be thrown into, you know, I’m sure he’s just glad it’s over with. Didn’t really think he had a lot of pop in his skating tonight which usually he does. So it’s a tough situation to be put into but I thought he was fine.”
Less than three minutes into the game, Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald was called for boarding Sam Malinski. Malinski seemed to catch his skate and was off-balance before MacDonald hit him. Malinski was injured and bleeding. He missed a substantial amount of time in the first period, but returned to play before the period ended. MacDonald, however, was given a game misconduct.
During the ensuing five minute penalty, Colorado scored once. The Sharks penalty kill held the Avalanche off for 4:30. In the final seconds, Jonathan Drouin found Valeri Nichushkin next to the net for a tap-in goal. Assists went to Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon.
The Sharks were back on the penalty kill at 10:37, and Colorado scored at 12:15. Mikko Rantanen deflected a shot from MacKinnon, again late in the power play. Assists went to MacKinnon and Devon Toews.
Miles Wood made it 3-0 with a sharp angle shot at 18:20. Assists went to Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin. Nathan MacKinnon made it 4-0 at 3:44 of the second period with an unassisted goal.
Tomas Hertl scored on the power play to make it 4-1 at 9:01 of the second. Hertl deflected a shot from the blue line by Mikael Granlund. The secondary assist went to Alexander Barabanov.
Ryan Johansen made it 5-1 at 9:01 of the third period. A rebound off of a Caleb Jones shot went right to Johansen with an open net in front of him. Assists went to Jones and Andrew Cogliano.
Hertl scored his second of the night, again on the power play. Right in front of ther net, Hertl gathered up a rebound after William Eklund took a shot. Assists went to Eklund and Granlund.
Nathan MacKinnon scored his second of the night at 15:11, into an empty net. The Sharks pulled their goaltender with five minutes left in the game.
The Sharks did well in shot count for the game, just one behind Colorado’s 29. In the face-off circle, the Sharks struggled again, winning only 38.2% of the draws.
The Sharks started the game missing several veteran players. Apart from the injured players, Anthony Duclair was a healthy scratch. After the game, David Quinn declined to share details about that decision and said only that Duclair would be back.
Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT against the Los Angeles Kings.
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