Kiviranta scores 2 3rd-period goals to lift Avalanche past Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Joel Kiviranta had two third-period goals, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves as the Colorado Avalanche rallied past the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at SAP Center on Thursday.

Blackwood returned to San Jose for the first time since being traded to the Avalanche on Dec. 9, along with forward Givani Smith and a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

"It's great. I really enjoyed my time here," Blackwood said. "I made a lot of great friends, and I'll always be grateful for it."

Alexandar Georgiev, sent from Colorado to San Jose in the trade along with Nikolai Kovalenko, a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, started for the Sharks and made 27 saves.

"It's a little weird because you know the tendencies of the players, and that's not always a good thing for a goalie," Georgiev said. "You don't want to overcommit to whatever guys are doing. For me, [I was] just trying to play the guys fair, like usual. I know how to play hockey, so just not overthink."

Mikko Rantanen scored a goal to extend his points streak to seven games (four goals, nine assists). Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each had two assists for the Avalanche (19-15-0), who are 5-2-0 in their last seven games.

"First period, especially, I thought we were shooting the puck, created lots of chances. Second period wasn't as good. I thought they took it over a little bit in the second," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "But I liked our third again. I thought we got back on to what we were doing in the first period. I thought our penalty kill [came] up huge tonight."

William Eklund and Carl Grundstrom scored for the Sharks (11-19-5), who have lost three straight and six of seven.

"I don't know if it's psychological. I didn't mind our third period at times. I thought we did some good things, but there's a fine line of winning in this league," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "They make a couple plays, we don't make a couple plays, and it's in the back of our net. That's the difference of the hockey game."

Valeri Nichushkin put the Avalanche ahead 1-0 at 3:40 of the first period with a power-play goal. Makar took a wrist shot from center point that rebounded hard off the end boards for Nichushkin to poke past Georgiev.

Grundstrom tied the game 1-1 for the Sharks at 4:26 of the second period after Jan Rutta's wrist shot rebounded off Blackwood's right pad to him at the left side of the net.

Eklund put the Sharks ahead 2-1 at 9:29 after he found a loose puck at the top of the crease, which he swept through the five-hole on Blackwood.

"I didn't think [seeing Blackwood would] be that strange," Eklund said. "It felt good [to score on him.] I was letting him know, too."

Rantanen tied the game 2-2 for the Avalanche at 8:26 of the third period with a power-play goal. MacKinnon faked a one-timer on the left circle and fed a perfect cross-ice pass for Rantanen to one-time past Georgiev.

Kiviranta then scored twice in less than three minutes. He got the go-ahead goal with a wrist shot past Georgiev's glove at 13:06 for a 3-2 lead.

"I was actually looking for a pass," Kiviranta said. "It was a good result."

At 15:58, Kiviranta took a pass from Artturi Lehkonen and one-timed it past Georgiev for his second goal of the game and a 4-2 lead.

NOTES: Makar scored his 40th point of the season in just his 34th game. The only defensemen in Avalanche/Nordiques history to reach the mark in fewer games are Makar (30 GP in 2023-24) and Steve Duchesne (32 GP in 1992-93). ... The Avalanche won their 11th straight contest against the Sharks, their longest streak against any opponent in franchise history.