The Colorado Avalanche sure made it interesting, but in the end, the Sharks’ significant edge in talent and the depth of their roster is what got them through this series. Second line center Joe Pavelski was probably the best Shark in this series, and he played a big role in the final game, netting two goals and adding an assist as the Sharks downed the Avs 5-2 in Game 6. For a team that has faced endless questions about whether or not they have what it takes to win in the postseason, winning this series was big, but they won’t be happy if it’s the only one they win.
After a big 5-0 win in San Jose on Thursday, the Sharks got off to a quick start in Denver, as Pavelski scored the game’s first goal less than a minute in, outworking an Avs defender and wrapping the puck around the net from his knees. The Sharks kept up the pressure on Colorado for the rest of the night, outshooting the Avs 34-18 in the game. Still, Colorado was in good shape for most of the first 40 minutes, and actually led this one early in the 3rd.
Marek Svatos scored his first goal of the playoffs early in the 2nd, flying through the neutral zone and pulling the puck around Nabokov after he blew past two Shark defensemen. Brandon Yip gave the Avs their only lead of the night with his tap in of a rebound less than 5 minutes into the 3rd, but it was all Sharks after that.
Dan Boyle tied the game with a bomb from the point a few minutes after Yip scored, and Pavelski scored what would be the game winner less than 90 seconds later blocking a shot in his own end and then beating Anderson with a great wrist shot from the slot that went in just under the crossbar. His linemate, Devin Setoguchi put the game away with an empty netter in the last minute, and defenseman Douglas Murray added an empty netter of his own.
The Sharks won’t be resting on their laurels after this win, as they got given quite a scare by the upstart Avalanche in the first few games. There were some low moments, most notably Dan Boyle’s own goal in overtime of Game 3, and a few more bad bounces might have cost them. However, Evgeni Nabokov looked like he got better and better as the series progressed, and that should give San Jose some security as he’ll likely be tested much more in the next series.
