SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nathan MacKinnon scored his second goal of the game 3:13 into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot.
Jack Johnson and Evan Rodrigues also scored for Colorado. Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen each had two assists, and MacKinnon also had one. Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves for his 36th win of the season.
“Huge two points, and I liked the way our guys played. I thought we competed hard right from the start of the game,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Obviously, things got tight in the third period, but we continued to play, and you know, we fought the puck at times.”
Kevin Labanc had two goals, Jacob Peterson also scored, and Logan Couture added two assists for San Jose. Kaapo Kahkonen finished with 38 saves.
“We’re just all competitors. It doesn’t matter if we’re in it or not. We’re competing every single game. We compete to win, and we compete for each other,” Labanc said. (Some) guys are playing for contracts. Guys are playing to move up in the lineup, make a good showing for themselves for next year. We’re all working hard. We’re all competing.”
In the extra period, MacKinnon got a pass from Toews on the right side, skated in on Kahkonen on a breakaway, and fired a shot past the goalie’s blocker side for his 36 goal and 100th point of the season.
“Yeah, it’s good. Tons of amazing players on this team helped me a ton,” MacKinnon said. “Obviously, I don’t need to say the names, but everyone has helped me a lot throughout the season. So it’s fun to get it for sure.”
Peterson scored on the power play at 5:50 of the third as he got a pass in front from Danil Gushchin and quickly beat Kahkonen for his second of the season to pull the Sharks to 3-2.
Labanc got his second of the game and 15th of the season to tie it just 1:21 later as he jumped on a loose puck in front, turned, and fired it past Georgiev.
“A little bit of frustration, but really proud of the way we competed and the way we played — especially after what happened the last time we played these guys,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “I really thought we came with an effort and a compete that we’re going to need from here on in.”
Johnson started the scoring 4:29 into the game as he took a shot from the point that deflected off a Sharks defender and into the net. It was his second.
Rodrigues scored 1:55 later for his 15th to give Colorado a 2-0 lead. After Mikko Rantanen hit the post earlier, Rodrigues was able to spin and put a rebound in.
Labanc beat Georgiev over his glove off a rush to put the Sharks on the scoreboard with his 14th with 7:05 left in the second. Erik Karlsson earned the secondary assist on the play, giving him 96 points.
With 2:06 to go in the second frame, MacKinnon fired a shot through Kahkonen’s five-hole to push Colorado’s lead to 3-1 with 2:06 left in the middle period.
“We outplayed them. Even our power play,” MacKinnon said. “We had so many chances to keep going, and hopefully, we can bury one, but yeah, I thought we played a pretty solid game.”
MILESTONES
Kahkonen has now played in 100 career NHL games. … Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor played in his 200th career game.
UP NEXT
The teams meet again Thursday night in San Jose.
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