For at least one round, the San Jose Sharks can take a break from all the choking jokes. Then they’ll start over again in Round 2, because god forbid someone think of new punchlines. San Jose Sharks 5, Colorado Avalanche 2
Sharks win series 4-2
It’s been a night full of spirited comebacks. First, Chicago scored a last minute goal to tie a game against Nashville that the Blackhawks eventually won in overtime. Next, Pittsburgh came back from a 3-0 deficit to knock the Ottawa out of the playoffs. Finally, San Jose came back from a 2-1 third period margin to win 5-2.
The score might indicate that this game was a blow-out, but really it was 3-2 with two empty net goals. Joe Pavelski is starting to develop a real “clutch” reputation this post-season; he scored San Jose’s first and added the game winning goal to boot. Dan Boyle scored a goal to help cleanse some of the bad taste left from that horrid own-goal. Marek Svatos and Brandon Yip scored Colorado’s two goals.
While the Sharks breathe a sigh of relief, the Avalanche should keep their heads up high. Aside from maybe a few crazy Avs fans/writers, no one expected Colorado to even make the playoffs. Instead, they had a fantastic run to the eighth seed in the West (not a small feat considering how tough the conference was). Considering all the fresh faces in their lineup, the Avs might hit a little hangover next year but expect this team to knock on the door in the future.