Saturday, March 29, 3:00 PM on RDS2, CSCA, Alti

Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

The Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 the last time these two teams saw each other. It was a battle between two of the top five teams in the Western Conference. The Avalanche relied heavily on Nathan MacKinnon, who had his first career two-goal performance in the win. The Sharks were able to put up a fight after being down 4-0, but didn't have enough in them to complete the comeback.

MacKinnon got the scoring started late in the first period with a power-play goal. That was followed by three second period goals from the Avalanche, including one from Erik Johnson that made a funny bounce before beating Sharks goalie Antti Niemi.

Joe Pavelski got one back for San Jose with a power-play goal in the middle of the second period. Patrick Marleau followed that up a minute and a half later with his 19th of the season. The game got very interesting when Logan Couture was able to beat Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, but that was all they could get as Colorado was able to hold on for the win.

With his big game, MacKinnon was able to pass the Sharks' Tomas Hertl for the most points among all NHL rookies with 26. Varlamov finished the game with 30 saves, which included several big stops to keep the Avalanche in the lead late in the game.

ATS Trends

San Jose is 21-17 straight up on the road this season

San Jose is 20-16-2 against the over/under on the road this season

Colorado is 23-14 straight up at home this season

Colorado is 18-17-1 against the over/under at home this season

Injuries to Watch

San Jose 

12/20/13 C Tomas Hertl Knee out indefinitely
03/26/14 RW Adam Burish Arm out indefinitely
03/25/14 C Logan Couture Ankle questionable
03/22/14 LW Raffi Torres Knee out indefinitely

Colorado

03/26/14 C John Mitchell Back questionable
03/11/14 RW PA Parenteau Knee expected to miss 4-6 weeks
02/25/14 RW Milan Hejduk Personal has retired
02/20/14 LW Alex Tanguay Hip out for season

Tony's Pick: Take Colorado

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