Series: Series tied 2-2
Location: SAP Center
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET; (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS)
Overview:
The Colorado Avalanche won 3-0 in Game 4 at Pepsi Center to tie the series up. Now they will be away at one of the toughest arenas in the NHL, the SAP Center. The Avalanche are 3-16-5 at SAP Center since 2008-09. They did win 4-3 in Game 2 to even the series. In Game 4, they were down 2-1 in the series and decided to adjust their game by staying more disciplined and attacking the Sharks with a strong forecheck. The Sharks struggled to get out of their own end for the whole game. A strong forecheck was one of the key factors for Philipp Grubauer 32-save shutout in Game 4. A strong defense and clearing the front of the net for Grubauer give the Avalanche the advantage.
Avalanche forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are have an excellent Stanley Cup Playoff performance. Both MacKinnon (six goals, seven assists) and Rantanen (five goals, eight assists) lead the playoffs with 13 points.
Who else but Nathan MacKinnon to open the scoring for the Avs. 🔥
(🎥: @Avalanche) pic.twitter.com/ECfb8nmFDB
— theScore (@theScore) May 3, 2019
If they Avalanche played as they did in Game 4, then they will head back home to Pepsi Center leading the series 3-2.
The Sharks looked really, really disorganized in Game 4. None of the defensemen could break it out. The turnovers in the neutral zone gave zero opportunities for the Sharks to score. The Sharks need defenseman Brent Burns to get back to his scoring ways. Burns had seven points (three goals, four assists) in Games 1 and 2. In the last two games, the All-Star defenseman had zero points, four shots, and a lot of turnovers in the defensive breakout. The Avalanche obvious game plan will be putting a lot of pressure on Burns.
The series heads back to San Jose for Game 5 on Saturday. #PlayoffMode pic.twitter.com/uQ3H4sz6Q9
— x – San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 3, 2019
In the power-play, the Sharks are 1-for-11 in the series. That only goal came 19:49 in the third period when the goalie was pulled in Game 2. That goal didn’t matter as they lost 4-3. Sharks should stay in disciplined and take advantage of these power-play opportunities. Both Burns and Karlsson needs to be more creative and shake things up on the power-play.
Brent Burns is not having fun pic.twitter.com/IVAbOkERRK
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 3, 2019
Strong defensive-zone breakouts, fewer turnovers, and a strong performance from Burns are the three keys for the Sharks to lead the series 3-2.
Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Colin Wilson — J.T. Compher — Alexander Kerfoot
Matt Calvert — Carl Soderberg — Matt Nieto
Gabriel Bourque — Tyson Jost — Derick Brassard
Samuel Girard — Cale Makar
Nikita Zadorov — Tyson Barrie
Ian Cole — Erik Johnson
Philipp Grubauer
Timo Meier — Logan Couture – Gustav Nyquist
Evander Kane — Tomas Hertl — Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen — Joe Thornton — Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley — Barclay Goodrow — Melker Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon — Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan — Justin Braun
Martin Jones
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