Colorado @ San Jose preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 26, 2019 ) Colorado 2, San Jose 5

The Colorado Avalanche dropped Game 1 of their first-round series against Calgary before running off four consecutive wins to shock the top-seeded Flames and they are hoping to follow a similar path versus the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. After absorbing a 5-2 defeat in Friday's series opener, Colorado looks to get even in Sunday night's matchup at the resurgent San Jose Sharks.

The eighth-seeded Avalanche need to find a way to solve their decade-long woes in San Jose, where they have won only two of 23 meetings (2-15-6) since March 2009. "I think it is a disappointing result for us, but it is going to be a long series and we have to turn the page," Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie told reporters. "We will watch some video and go over some things and learn from our mistakes and be ready to go for Game 2." The Sharks stormed back from a 3-1 series hole in the first round against Vegas and again showed their mettle by erasing a pair of one-goal deficits Friday to post their fourth straight victory. "We're in the second round. Guys should be ready to go, and they were," defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic told reporters after San Jose put up five goals for the fourth time in the postseason. "We did a lot of good things after the first half of the first period and got rewarded for it."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE: Philipp Grubauer wrested the starting job from Semyon Varlamov down the stretch and was superb in the series win against Calgary, but Friday's setback marked the first time since Feb. 5 that he surrendered more than three goals in a game. Colorado's top two scorers, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, combined for 17 points in the final four games against the Flames but were limited to one assist each in Friday's opener. Colin Wilson's power-play goal was the sixth in four games with the extra skater for Colorado, which failed to convert on a four-minute man advantage that shifted the momentum to the home team.

ABOUT THE SHARKS: With captain and leading goal scorer Joe Pavelski sidelined for Game 1 due to a concussion suffered in the series finale versus Vegas, veteran Joe Thornton stood tall by netting the tying goal and combining with linemates Marcus Sorensen and Kevin Labanc for five points. "(Thornton) is the face of the franchise here for over a decade," DeBoer told the media. "Him and our leadership group really set the tempo every day with their work ethic, their commitment to come in, and they love it." Martin Jones continued his renaissance after a disastrous three-game stretch versus Vegas by making 26 saves for his fourth straight victory.

OVERTIME

1. Brent Burns became the first San Jose defenseman with four points in a game and set a franchise record for blue-liners with 51 postseason points.

2. Avalanche F Alexander Kerfoot, elevated to the No. 1 line in the postseason, has only one assist in six games.

3. Thornton became the 24th player in league history to register 100 assists in the playoffs.

PREDICTION: Sharks 4, Avalanche 2