Avalanche vs. Sharks, Game 2: Lines, Starting Goalies & How to Watch

It’s game two for the Colorado Avalanche, as they head to San Jose to take on the Sharks, a team expected to finish dead last in the NHL.

The Avalanche are coming off a solid 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, while the Sharks lost their season opener at home to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 4-1.

Alexandar Georgiev is the confirmed starter for Colorado, and he was dynamite in game one, especially on the penalty kill. The Avalanche killed off all five powerplays they gave the Kings, and won’t have to deal with as much firepower against the Sharks.

After missing opening night, Andrew Cogliano will return to the Avalanche lineup, replacing Kurtis MacDermid. It will be his first NHL game since fracturing his neck against the Kraken in the playoffs.

While the Avalanche played well in their season opening victory, they were far from perfect. All of their scoring (against a goaltender) came from the big guns, and it would be nice to see some of the secondary players chip in early in the season to build some confidence.

As for the Sharks…there probably isn’t much positive to say. After trading Erik Karlsson over the summer, everyone knows that they’re in a full-blown rebuild. Logan Couture missed the opening night game, and there’s no definite timeframe for his return. Their defense without Karlsson does not exactly inspire confidence.

If there is a positive for San Jose, it’s that they’re giving opportunities to some younger players. Filip Zadina, who signed this summer looking for a fresh start, was their lone goal scorer on Thursday. He’s getting a big opportunity, playing on the top line for the Sharks.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Jonathan Drouin – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

Artturi Lehkonen – Ryan Johansen – Valeri Nichushkin

Miles Wood – Ross Colton – Tomas Tatar

Andrew Cogliano – Fredrik Olofsson – Logan O’Connor

Defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Sam Girard – Josh Manson

Bowen Byram – Jack Johnson

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Justus Annunen

Expected San Jose Sharks Lines

Zadina-Hertl-Duclair
Eklund-Bordeleau-Hoffman
Barabanov-Peterson-Kunin
Smith-Sturm-Zetterlund

Defense:

Ferraro-Burroughs

Vlasic-Benning

Thrun-Rutta

Goalies:

Kahkonen

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 33%, 6th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 100%, 1st in NHL

San Jose Sharks Power Play: 0%, Last in NHL

San Jose Sharks Penalty Kill: 100%, 1st in NHL

How to Watch

TV: Altitude, ESPN+

Radio: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5

Game Time: 8:00 PM MST