DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin each had a goal and three assists to help the Colorado Avalanche snap a three-game slide with a 6-0 rout of the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Denis Malgin and Artturi Lehkonen also got into the goal-scoring act. The Avalanche outshot the Sharks by a 43-13 margin, including 19-2 in the opening period when they took a 3-0 lead.
It was a light night of work for Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who registered his fourth shutout this season.
Colorado extended its streak to eight straight wins over San Jose at home. The Sharks just didn’t have the energy to keep up with the fast-skating Avalanche after rallying for an overtime win the night before in Winnipeg.
Kaapo Kahkonen had a rough evening in goal for the Sharks and was pulled early in the second period after allowing five goals on 24 shots. James Reimer took over and allowed one.
Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson left for the dressing room early in the third period after taking a stick to the face that drew blood. There wasn’t a call on the play and Karlsson tossed his helmet in frustration, which drew a misconduct penalty.
Rantanen scored his 42nd goal of the season in the first period. That’s the fourth-most goals for a season since the Avalanche moved to town in 1995-96. Joe Sakic holds the top mark with 54 in 2000-01.
For MacKinnon, there truly has been no place like home ice. He’s now registered at least a point in 14 straight games at Ball Arena. It’s the second-longest mark since the team relocated to the Mile High City, trailing only Sakic’s 23-game home scoring streak in ’00-01.
COGLIANO’S MILESTONE
Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano played in his 1,200th career game. He’s the third player from the 2005 draft class to dress in that many games, joining Anze Kopitar and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
STURM HONORED
Sharks forward Nico Sturm was honored on the video screen and received a round of applause from the crowd in his return to Ball Arena. He was a member of Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship team last season.
INJURY UPDATES
Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson (lower body) has resumed skating about three weeks since his injury. … Avalanche coach Jared Bednar had no timeline on Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who’s yet to play this season after undergoing knee surgery in October. … Bednar remains hopeful defenseman Josh Manson (lower body) can return by the end of the month.
UP NEXT
Sharks: At St. Louis on Thursday night.
Avalanche: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.