SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Even with just one weekend left in the regular season, there's still so much left to be sorted out in regards to the NHL's playoff picture.
A pair of third period goals helped the San Jose Sharks bring things into somewhat greater focus.
Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi scored back-to-back goals 4:14 apart in the third to help the Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 at SAP Center, ending San Jose's four-game losing skid and bringing it one step closer to clinching second place in the Pacific Division.
Just 1:17 after Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen scored on the power play to tie the game 1-1, Couture responded with his own power play goal, taking a pass from Kevin Labanc and firing a shot past Colorado goalie Jonathan Bernier for his 34th goal of the season.
Donskoi's goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came on a second effort in front of the Avalanche net with 9:46 to go in regulation. Tomas Hertl added an empty net goal with 1.6 seconds to go.
The Sharks came out of the gate Thursday with the right kind of energy.
Justin Braun opened the scoring at the 2:58 mark of the first, as his one-time shot off a pass from Couture from just inside the blue line deflected off Gabriel Bourque and past Bernier for his fifth goal of the season.
Jones, making his eighth start in the last nine games, made 15 of his first 16 saves at even strength.
These were two huge points for San Jose.
The Sharks have discovered that their eight-game win streak from March 12-26 may have been good enough to help earn a playoff spot, but only went so far in terms of securing home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
On the morning of March 27, the Sharks were alone in second place in the division with 97 points, six back of first place Vegas and six in front of Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Since then the Sharks lost in overtime in St. Louis, then dropped three straight in regulation to Nashville, Vegas and Dallas. Roughly in that same time frame, Anaheim went 3-1 and Los Angeles went 3-0-1, and just like that, the Sharks' cushion for second place had dwindled to one point over the Ducks and two over the Kings.
The Kings were hosting the Minnesota Wild late Thursday night.
Still, after all of that, the Sharks still entered Thursday in control of their own destiny in terms of finishing in second place with two straight wins.
Of course, Colorado was in the same boat. If the Avalanche won its last two, it would punch a ticket to the postseason a year after finishing with the worst record in the NHL at 22-56-4.
Colorado, with 93 points entering Thursday, held the Western Conference's second wild card spot, and had the chance to move three points up on the St. Louis Blues, who have 92 points and two games remaining.
"They'll be desperate," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said of the Avalanche. "For us, we should be able to match that, no problem, because we still want to work for home ice here and get this thing going in the right direction again."
