Colton scores 2, Avalanche hand Sharks 6th straight loss to start season

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Ross Colton scored twice to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 at SAP Center on Sunday.

Colton has five goals in his past three games.

"[I'm] just trying to play my game, kind of get open for [Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen]," Colton said. "Just find the smallest areas, and they will find you on the ice. It's been fun, but we've got to keep it up."

Cale Makar had a goal and two assists to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, 10 assists) for the Avalanche (2-4-0), who have won two straight. MacKinnon had two assists to extend his point streak to six (two goals, nine assists).

"It's been huge to have them going because the bulk of our offense is coming from those guys," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It's a lot of pressure on those guys."

Justus Annunen made 25 saves in his first start of the season.

"It's huge to get a solid goaltender performance," Bednar said of Annunen. "It wasn't a lot of work [but] he made key saves at key times. We did a nice job blocking shots in front of him. He looked solid in there. He looked big in there."

William Eklund scored for the Sharks (0-4-2). Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves.

"We've got to find a way to win a hockey game,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We've done some really good things in probably four of our six games. You could arguably say our record could be different, but at the end of the day, a record is what it says, right? I know our guys are digging in, and we care. We're trying. It's going to come. We just got to keep plugging."

Colton scored on a one-timer on the power play to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 6:23 of the first period. MacKinnon fed Colton in the slot from the left wing.

Colton made it 2-0 at 16:37 with a wrist shot over Vanecek's blocker after Rantanen found him streaking behind the defense.

"He plays hard, plays with the edge," Rantanen said of Colton. "[On the] power play [he's] good [with] loose pucks, good [at] finishing plays. [He's] stepping up."

Eklund scored his first goal of the season on the power play with 1:35 remaining in the period to cut the Avalanche lead to 2-1.

"[It] was a good pass by [Mikael Granlund], and I just tried to get it on net, and it worked this time," Eklund said. "Our team [has] got to find a way to put the puck in the net, and the power play is a big thing."

Joel Kiviranta took a pass from Josh Manson and scored with a backhand shot in front of the crease at 9:57 of the third period to make it 3-1 Colorado.

Makar scored an empty-net goal at 18:23 for the 4-1 final.

"In this league, it's wins and losses, right," Warsofsky said. "We did some really good things tonight. There are some things we've got to improve on and continue to develop individually and collectively."

NOTES: Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, did not play for the fifth consecutive game. Warsofsky said the center resumed skating but is still considered week to week. He was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 12 -- retroactive to Oct. 10 -- with a lower-body injury. ... Tyler Toffoli extended his point streak to four with an assist (three goals, two assists). … Colorado has won 10 straight games against San Jose dating back to Nov. 13, 2021, matching the franchise's longest win streak against a single opponent.