Kiviranta's Two-Goal Performance Helps Avalanche Beat Sharks 4-2

A West Coast Win

The Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at the SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday. Joel Kiviranta scored twice, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin each added a goal, while Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves against his former team.

"It was unreal," Blackwood said about the team's performance tonight. "Down 2-1 going into the third period, [there was] no panic in the room. [The team was] just calm [and] composed."

This victory extended the Avs' win streak against the Sharks to 11 games, which is their longest win streak against any opponent.

"I thought our guys competed well," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said after the game. "Not just worked hard, but we competed hard. And then we're able to capitalize on some of our chances as the game went on, which is great to see."

How It Happened

The Avalanche opened the scoring on the power play at 3:40 of the first period with Nichushkin's 9th goal of the season with a bakchand shot from the right doorstep. The puck careened to him off the boards behind the net as a result of Cale Makar's shot from the point.

San Jose tied the game at 4:26 of the second period when Carl Grundstrom scored from the bottom of the left circle off a rebound.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 9:29 of the middle frame when William Eklund scored from the right doorstep.

Rantanen tied the game with his 19th goal of the season at 8:26 of the third period on the power play with his signature right-circle one-timer.

Becoming the second Finnish-born player to score for the Avs tonight, Kiviranta gave Colorado a 3-2 lead at 13:06 of the third period with a left-circle wrist shot off the rush.

Kiviranta doubled the Avs' lead with his second of the night and seventh of the season via a one-timer from the top of the right circle at 15:58.

Next Up

The Avalanche conclude their three-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at 8 p.m. MT on Altitude, My20, and Altitude+.