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Sharks vs. Avalanche Preview: Time to rebound

After losing in overtime to the rival Kings, the Sharks are looking to bounce back and do so in a big way. In a bit of good timing they will face the previously middling Avalanche. I say this knowing full well that the Avalanche are in a playoff spot as of this writing. I am being serious, they are in a playoff spot, go look it up. As has been the case for the Avalanche under Patrick Roy though, the team has underlying numbers that shouldn’t scare anyone. So who exactly will the Sharks face?

The Avalanche have been the beneficiaries of some good old fashioned luck as their goaltender, Semyon Varlamov has played lights out recently. Varlamov has won four straight games but luckily for the Sharks they won’t have to face him and will instead face young netminder, Calvin Pickard.

Two teams riding hot streaks should bring a certain amount of intrigue to a game that will be aired nationally on NBCSN. It will be the the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, something has got to give.

Tale Of The Tape

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San Jose Sharks
26-21-3 Record 25-18-4
5th in Central Rank 2nd in Pacific
46.4%
Score-Adj. Fenwick 52.5%
100.7
PDO 99.6
20 PP% 21.3
80.4
PK% 79.3

7PM PDT | SAP Center | San Jose
TV: NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNW | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX

Know Your Enemy: Mile High Hockey

Projected Sharks Lines

Tomas HertlJoe ThorntonJoe Pavelski

Matt NietoPatrick MarleauJoel Ward

Joonas DonskoiLogan CoutureTommy Wingels

Melker KarlssonChris Tierney – Dainius Zubrus

Marc-Edouard VlasicJustin Braun

Paul MartinBrent Burns

Brenden DillonDylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Alex Stalock

Projected Avalanche Lines

Alex Tanguay – Nathan Mackinnon – Matt Duchene

Gabriel LandeskogCarl SoderbergBlake Comeau

Andreas MartinsenMikhail GrigorenkoJarome Iginla

Cody McLeodJohn MitchellJack Skille

Francois BeaucheminErik Johnson

Nick HoldenTyson Barrie

Chris BigrasAndrew Bodnarchuk

Calvin Pickard

Semyon Varlamov

Last Meeting

Led by a hat trick from Nathan Mackinnon and an efficient power play the Avalanche defeated the Sharks 6-3.

Storylines
  • With the third game in four days will any fatigue start to present itself?
  • San Jose is 7-1-2 in the last ten games, one of the best stretches this year by the Sharks.
  • Pavelski and Thornton are red hot, will they be able to take advantage of Calvin Pickard?/
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