Eurolanche

Slumping Sharks visit Avs to end trip

Season series: The San Jose Sharks defeated the Colorado Avalanche twice last season, outscoring them 7-3 in regulation. Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski scored in the shootout for a 3-2 win on Oct. 28, when Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made 49 saves. Defenseman Brent Burns and forward Logan Couture each had three points for San Jose. Matt Duchene, Alex Tanguay and Gabriel Landeskog scored for Colorado.

Sharks team scope: San Jose lost to the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday and travels to Colorado before a four-game homestand. The Sharks have lost five of their past six games after starting the season 4-0-0. "It was there for us, but it's been there for us last few games," captain Joe Pavelski said. "We've got to get a little bit more out of each and every guy and we've got to find ways to win these games." The Sharks scored twice on the power-play Saturday after not scoring in their previous six games (0-for-13). San Jose was outscored 3-0 at even strength. "They had three 5-on-5 goals tonight, we didn't have any," coach Peter DeBoer said. "… We've got to generate some 5-on-5 goals." Goalie Martin Jones is likely to start after Alex Stalock played Saturday.

Avalanche team scope: Colorado went 1-2-0 on a three game road trip which ended with a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Avalanche have two games at home before playing 12 of 15 on the road. "We need to focus on [Sunday]," forward Nathan MacKinnon told the Avalanche website after practice Saturday. "I know we have some home games [but Sunday is] going to be a good test for us. [The Sharks] are playing today, so we have to jump on them." The Avalanche have lost five of their past six games. "With the way we started the season in the first 10 games, the next 10 games need to be outstanding to get ourselves back in the standings as soon as possible," forward Alex Tanguay said.

 -- by David Satriano for NHL.com --