San Jose Sharks Look to Take Command of Series in Game 4 Versus the Avalanche
The San Jose Sharks stole home ice-advantage back in Game 3 with some heroics from Logan Couture. Now a determined Team Teal is looking to take control of the series in Game 4.
The Avalanche made a late push in Game 3 to make things interesting, but the San Jose Sharks were able to hold on to win the contest 4 – 2.
Logan Couture led the way for San Jose recording his first ever Stanley Cup Playoffs hat trick (4th overall of his career), per hockey-reference. Despite the impressive accomplishment the 30-year-old center didn’t celebrate much post game. In fact during his interviews he preached that he and Team Teal needed to play better. This type of rhetoric isn’t surprising coming from someone who’s only missed the playoffs once in his decade long career.
Martin Jones continued his hot stretch of play in Game 3 making 25 saves while facing 27 shots. That brings his save percentage to a fantastic 0.935% since his disastrous 4 game start against Vegas in Round 1, per naturalstattrick. The coaching staff’s patience with the 29-year-old netminder has payed off huge. He’s going to relied upon heavily in Game 4 with the big guns of the Avalanche looking to put on a show in front of their home crowd.
The San Jose Sharks started strong last game, but needed some timely saves and a goal from Logan Couture to hold off the high-powered Avalanche. However Team Teal might have had an easier time if the post didn’t deny them on 4 separate occasions. Hopefully the bounces go their way in this one so they don’t end up sweating it out towards the final moments of the game.
Unsatisfied with special teams the coaching staff made some changes to the configurations. Nyquist is now seeing time on the top power play unit. They’ve gone 1/8 in this series and have only recorded 7 shots on goal in their 14:38 of power play ice time, naturalstattrick. These opportunities to put up points against this potent Colorado Avalanche squad are crucial if Team Teal wants to stay alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Judging by morning skate the San Jose Sharks don’t plan on making any changes to the lineup. The Colorado Avalanche are expected to have Matt Calvert back after he missed Game 3 due to injury. There aren’t any guarantees until puck drop but here’s who could be on the ice for Game 4 in Denver.
San Jose Sharks
Forward Combinations
Timo Meier ~ Logan Couture ~ Gus Nyquist
Evander Kane ~ Tomas Hertl ~ Lukas Radil
Marcus Sorensen~ Joe Thornton ~ Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley ~ Barclay Goodrow ~ Melker Karlsson
Defensive Pairings
Marc-Edouard Vlasic ~ Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon ~ Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan ~ Justin Braun
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ Martin Jones
Backup ~ Aaron Dell
Colorado Avalanche
Forward Combinations
Gabriel Landeskog~ Nathan MacKinnon ~ Alexander Kerfoot
Mikko Rantanen ~ Carl Soderberg ~ Colin Wilson
Matt Calvert ~ JT Compher ~ Matt Nieto
Derick Brassard ~ Tyson Jost ~ Gabriel Bourque
Defensive Pairings
Ian Cole ~ Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov ~ Tyson Barrie
Cale Makar ~ Samuel Girard
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ Philipp Grubauer
Backup ~ Semyon Varlamov
Trending. Logan Couture Strives in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. light
The San Jose Sharks are on a mission to take control of Round 2 with a win in Denver. However the Colorado Avalanche are carrying some late game momentum and home ice advantage into a Game 4 that could make or break their season.
Puck drop for tonight’s game at the SAP Center is at 7:00 PM PT. The game will be televised nationally on NBCSN. The audio can be streamed on the NHL and Sharks App courtesy of 98.5 KFOX.