Martin Havlat Nets Hat Trick As San Jose Sharks Beat Avalanche

Havlat netted a hat trick, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period as the Sharks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Friday night. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

San Jose Sharks have been waiting to see this from Martin Havlat for a long time.

Havlat netted a hat trick, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period as the Sharks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Friday night.

It was a 2-1 Sharks lead heading into the third before Havlat went off. His first goal came at the 5:26 mark, deflecting Logan Couture‘s wrister past Jean-Sebastian Giguere. Couture had made a nice maneuver to create an opening and get off the shot. His second was a breakaway goal at 13:40, scoring on the rebound after his original shot was stopped by Giguere. Then, with five minutes left, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy pulled his goalie for an extra attacker, a decision that would backer, as it allowed Havlat a free shot at a hat trick, his third of his career and first in a Sharks uniform.

San Jose jumped on the board first and never trailed in the game. They forced Reto Berra, the Avalanche starter in net, out of the game after scoring two rather “soft” goals to Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau. Boyle’s wrister found its way past Berra, and Marleau blasted a slap shot for his 33rd goal of the season.

Tomas Hertl played in his first game since the devastating knee injury back on Dec. 19. He looked fairly active on the third line in 15 minutes of action, hitting the post once and even committed a boarding penalty, so the energy is definitely there.

Speaking of Hertl, we’ll leave you with this dynamite quote:

We not much like L.A. either.

Tale of the Tape

Sharks:

• Shots on goal: 30
• Power play: 0-for-2
• Hits: 24
• Giveaways: 14
• Takeaways: 10
• Faceoffs won: 35

Avalanche:

• Shots on goal: 33
• Power play: 0-for-2
• Hits: 34
• Giveaways: 15
• Takeaways: 7
• Faceoffs won: 31

What’s on Tap

The regular season comes to a close tomorrow night when the Sharks take on the Coyotes. Then, it’s time for the #INotMuchLikeLA chants.