San Jose Sharks (29-29-8, sixth in the Pacific) vs. Colorado Avalanche (47-14-6, first in the Central)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Avalanche -337, Sharks +262; over/under is 6
BOTTOM LINE: Colorado hosts the San Jose Sharks after Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals in the Avalanche's 2-1 victory over the Flames.
The Avalanche are 29-7-4 against Western Conference opponents. Colorado averages 10.2 points per game to lead the Western Conference, recording 3.8 goals and 6.5 assists per game.
The Sharks are 15-17-3 in conference games. San Jose averages 8.8 penalty minutes per game, the seventh-most in the Western Conference. Jeffrey Viel leads the team serving 100 total minutes.
In their last meeting on March 18, Colorado won 5-3. Nichushkin recorded two goals for the Avalanche.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nazem Kadri has 81 total points for the Avalanche, 26 goals and 55 assists. Mikko Rantanen has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.
Timo Meier leads the Sharks with 66 points, scoring 30 goals and adding 36 assists. Tomas Hertl has four goals and nine assists over the last 10 games for San Jose.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 6-3-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.8 assists, 4.2 penalties and 10.1 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .943 save percentage.
Sharks: 5-4-1, averaging three goals, five assists, 3.5 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog: out (knee), Samuel Girard: out (lower body), Nathan MacKinnon: day to day (undisclosed), Ryan Murray: out (hand/wrist).
Sharks: Jonah Gadjovich: out (undisclosed), Kevin Labanc: out (shoulder), Logan Couture: day to day (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press