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Game 5 of the best-of-seven Western Conference
semifinal will be Saturday night in San Jose.
Needing a victory to prevent ending up on the brink of
elimination, the Avalanche executed a perfect game plan to even
the series at two wins apiece. Colorado played with speed and
tightened up defensively en route to a crucial win.
To top it off, Grubauer made 32 saves, maybe his biggest in the
waning seconds of the second period when he stretched out his
right leg to deny Gustav Nyquist on a partial breakaway. He also
held the fort in the final period while the Sharks pushed to get
on the board and back in the game.
On offense, the Avalanche benefited from a balanced attack.
MacKinnon opened the scoring just past the midway point of the
second period.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones made a dandy stop on Mikko Rantanen's
deflection of Cale Makar's point shot, but MacKinnon batted the
rebound a couple of times before he put the puck into the net
for his sixth goal of the playoffs. MacKinnon is riding an
eight-game point streak in which he's netted 13 points -- most
among playoff performers this year.
Wilson doubled the lead with a power-play goal 3:11 into the
third period, finishing a scramble that was highlighted by
Rantanen's slick pass that allowed him to deposit the puck into
an open net.
Johnson rounded out the scoring with an empty-netter with 69
seconds remaining. He found the mark all the way from the boards
in his own zone, taking advantage of stout defensive play from
the third line.
Jones stopped 25 shots for the Sharks.
--Field Level Media
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