SAN JOSE
– Teemu Selanne chipped in a power play goal 7:10 into the third
period Tuesday to lift the Colorado Avalanche past the San Jose
Sharks 4-3 in front of 16,262 at HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – Teemu Selanne chipped in a power play goal 7:10 into the third period Tuesday to lift the Colorado Avalanche past the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in front of 16,262 at HP Pavilion.
The loss snapped a six-game streak with at least one point for the Sharks, leaving the Men in Teal two points out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. San Jose continues the homestand Thursday against St. Louis, Saturday Toronto and Tuesday the New York Rangers.
“It’s frustrating, they were ripe to be beat,” said Sharks coach Ron Wilson after San Jose lost for the first time in seven games when taking a lead into the first intermission. Wayne Primeau’s breakaway goal into the top left corner of the net beat goalie David Aebischer 12:38 into the first period.
“We kept banging away, battling,” said the coach. “We made a couple of mental mistakes and beat ourselves. We didn’t get the job done. On both (third period goals) we missed easy assignments.”
Colorado broke a 2-2 tie when Joe Sakic took advantage of a slow Sharks line change to rip a 15-footer past goalie Evgeni Nabokov 4:18 into the period. San Jose pulled even at 16:15 when Patrick Marleau one-handed a soft rebound inside the left post.
Selanne, who turned done more money from the Sharks to sign with the Avalanche over the summer, netted his third goal of the season just six seconds after Shark Mike Ricci was whistled for tripping. Derek Morris, who scored the first Avalanche goal 1:34 into the second period to create a 1-1 tie, controlled the face-off in the Sharks zone and directed the puck to Ron Blake. The All-Star defenseman fired a high shot at Nabokov, the rebound falling two feet outside the crease. Selanne positioned between defensemen Rob Davison and Mike Rathje and quickly cuffed the puck over Nabokov’s shoulder for the game-winner.
“Not boxing out on Teemu’s goal” was the final and fatal mistake, according to the coach.
“We knew coming in they were second-best in the league in the power play, and even without (injured forward Peter) Forsberg, that’s an all-star cast,” said Sharks captain Vincent Damphousse. “Their power play is powerful and they did it again tonight.
“We have to play a little more consistent at home. We did well on the road, but winning games at home is going to be the key to us making the playoffs.”
The Sharks, unbeaten in six previous games this season when scoring at least three goals, twice scored tying goals. Marco Sturm started, then finished, a 3-on-2 rush in the second period, redirecting a deflected Damphousse shot into the net at the 18:05 mark for a 2-2 tie.
