USATSI_22203355 — Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Kahkonen Stands On His Head; Avalanche Beat Sharks 3-1

Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 3:29 remaining in the third period as the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on New Year's Eve.

Author:
Max Miller
Publish date:
Dec 31, 2023 10:47 PM EST

Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 3:29 remaining in the third period as the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on New Year's Eve.

The San Jose Sharks got an elite performance from Kaapo Kahkonen as he made 31 saves. Tomas Hertl played his 700th career game and celebrated it with a goal.

The Colorado Avalanche poured on the shots in the game, outshooting San Jose 33-11. Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche, and Alexander Georgiev made 10 saves.

Henry Thrun played the best game of his young career. He was forced into more action due to the Sharks losing Mario Ferraro to injury. Ty Emberson returned to action and was terrific defensively as well.

The Sharks won the penalty kill draw cleanly, and Mario Ferraro tried to skate to the other side of the net to dump instead of firing it right away. The Avs kept the puck in and made it 1-0 via Mikko Rantanen.

Ferraro was in a collision with Nathan MacKinnon in the first period, and the team announced that he would not return with an upper-body injury.

Tomas Hertl celebrates his 700th career game with his team-leading 13th goal of the season. San Jose finally got a powerplay and capitalized on the opportunity.

Valeri Nichushkin cashes in on the delayed penalty to give the Avalanche a late lead.

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