Brandon Saad scored twice on Tuesday, one of them in a three-goal flurry at the end of the first period, as the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 7-3.
Mikko Rantanen scored a goal for the sixth straight game to tie an Avalanche record, while Valeri Nichushkin added a short-handed goal and an assist in the rout.
Ryan Donato and Logan Couture had a goal and an assist each for the Sharks.
Photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY
San Jose took a 1-0 lead on Donato’s third goal of the season 10 minutes, 39 seconds into the first period before Colorado came storming back. Joonas Donskoi tied it at 16:15, and 46 seconds later Saad gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead.
“I thought all four lines were ready to skate, were tenacious on pucks,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought we were stronger on pucks in the offensive zone and moving our feet whenever we were touching it.”
Rantanen scored on a power play with 39 seconds left in the period, his sixth of the season.
Rantanen became the fifth Colorado player to have a goal in six consecutive games since the franchise moved to Denver in 1995.
Joe Sakic accomplished the feat three times — two of those were seven-game streaks — and Peter Forsberg did it twice. Milan Hejduk scored in seven straight games and Nathan MacKinnon scored in six in a row in October 2018.
“I’m feeling healthy and I’m feeling good on the ice,” Rantanen said. “Playing with [Gabriel Landeskog] and Nate, there’s less pressure for me, and I just go out and play and work as hard as I can to do the right things.”
In other games on Tuesday, it was:
‧ Blue Jackets 3, Panthers 4
‧ Golden Knights 4, Blues 5 (SO)
‧ Bruins 3, Penguins 2 (OT)
‧ Coyotes 0, Ducks 1
‧ Sabres 3, Rangers 2
‧ Flames 3, Maple Leafs 4
‧ Devils 3, Flyers 5
‧ Predators 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
‧ Capitals 3, Islanders 2
‧ Wild 1, Kings 2
‧ Jets 6, Oilers 4
‧ Stars 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)
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