The San Jose Sharks will look to break their slump when they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
After a tremendous start in January, the Sharks have won once in 10 games in February, including two straight defeats. The team is coming off a dreadful 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars in which they imploded over the course of two minutes. The team held Dallas to a 0-0 draw until the final minute of the second period when Jaromir Jagr gave the Stars the lead. At the 30 second mark of the third Michael Ryder extended a lead that Dallas would never relinquish. "More of the same. Pretty good effort, but you can't take consolation in that," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said after the loss. "You have to put points in the bank, and we're not doing it right now. You can't win games scoring one goal.
The swoon has placed the Sharks into a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference with just 19 points; the team had picked up 14 out of 14 in January and only five out of 20 in February.
They will take on a Colorado Avalanche squad that has struggled just as mightily. With only 16 points in 17 games, the Avs are currently in 14th place in the Western Conference. Fortunately, they are only three points out of a playoff spot. The team has lost two straight including a 4-3 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. Colorado held 2-0 and 3-2 leads but squandered both and wound up losing in overtime. "[Saturday's 4-0 loss to the LA Kings] was our worst game of the season and we responded tonight," said forward P.A. Parenteau. "We came out swinging. We got a couple of bad bounces, but it was a good way to respond."
Predictions: Colorado wins 4-2 and prolongs San Jose's suffering.
Start Time: 10:30 PM EST
TV: ALT,CSN-CA