Sharks Move to Western Finals, Beat Avalanche in Game 7, 3-2

The San Jose Sharks won their second Game 7 in this playoff. This time they defeated Colorado Avalanche and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Peter DeBoer’s crew defeated Colorado Avalanche with 3-2 and secured their place among the four best teams in the NHL.

And most of the credit for winning this contest should go to Joe Pavelski who made his first appearance in the series, after suffering a horrifying injury in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The 35-year old had a huge impact on the ice and was a game-changer no doubt about that. Coach DeBoer stated that at the press conference.

“You’re almost speechless,” DeBoer said. “He obviously made the ultimate decision, and what an impact. What do you say? He’s a special player, special guy.”

When Pavelski entered the ice, the entire SAP Center went berserk, the fans, the players all of them. It was the initial spark which electrified the atmosphere and gave additional energy to the hosts.

The first two goals, had him involved.

After 5:57 Pavelski scored on a rebound after Brent Burns’ shot, and after that, he assisted Thomas Hertl for 2-0 with 11:35 into the game.

That quick one-two punch dazzled the Avalanche who couldn’t find their rhythm at the start of the game.

Pavelski would later explain that his desire to play and effort he posted on the ice was because he had to sit for six straight games and watch his teammates battle without him. And he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I got to watch these guys play for six games, and you know, I think they gave a lot of motivation to me,” Pavelski said.

The Avalanche became more aggressive, and they managed to cut the deficit and slow down Sharks’ swing 6.8 seconds before the end of the opening sequence.

It was Mikko Rantanen who netted and gave a breath of fresh air to his teammates.

The guests were so close to stunning San Jose and leveling the result in the second period, but one clumsy mistake of their captain prevented that from happening.

There is no doubt that the Avalanche had the initiative and that the momentum slowly started shifting on heir side. All they needed was a goal. And they got one, but it was canceled.

Colin Wilson scored, but Gabriel Landeskog was offside, and after Peter DeBoer’s challenge the decision was overturned.

Landeskog stayed into the zone while heading towards the bench for a change. That one moment when he lost his focus and probably cost his team the whole series.

“I’m going to take blame for that because I could have done a lot of things different,” the Avalanche captain said. “It’s a clumsy mistake, you know. Get off the ice.”

After that Sharks increased the lead to 3-1, through Joonas Donskoi at 12:37 in the second. Avalanche made one last push and caught the Sharks unprepared 51 seconds into the final period.

Tyler Jost gave hope to the guests who went all in but couldn’t breach San Jose’s defense, that is couldn’t beat Martin Jones who had 14 saves in that part of the game, and was the key player in their resistance.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar stated at the press conference that his team started the game slowly and that an early deficit was something which decided the game according to him.

He also congratulated the rivals, saying that they deserved to win and that a better team won.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to the Sharks,” Bednar said. “They’re a really good team. They deserved to win tonight because they outplayed us for large portions of the game. I’m sure they’ll do well moving on.”

San Jose is back in the conference finals after three seasons. And a familiar rival is already awaiting them – St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks and Blues met in 2016 at the same stage, and the team from California had more success advancing to the finals after a 4-2 win in the series. They would end up losing in the finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, however.

Boys from St. Louis also have an exhausting series behind them, as they battled Dallas Stars in all seven matches.

The battle between these two sides starts this Saturday in San Jose.