Sharks-Avalanche Preview

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• Sharks Skate By Avs, 5-3

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
SAN	53-18-11	32-5-4	21-13-7	17-7-0	41-15-8
COL	32-45-5	18-21-2	14-24-3	10-12-2	25-34-5
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
251	Goals	190
199	Goals Against	253
87	Power Play Goals	50
51	Power Play Goals Allowed	64
12	Shorthanded Goals	4
11	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	8
1053	Penalty Minutes	1062
13	Average Penalty Minutes	13

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Evgeni Nabokov	62	41	150	2.44	7	1513	.910
	Brian Boucher	22	12	47	2.18	2	516	.917
	Peter Budaj	56	20	154	2.86	2	1377	.899
	Andrew Raycroft	31	12	90	3.14	0	746	.892

Team Stat Leaders
G	Patrick Marleau 38	Milan Hejduk 27
A	Joe Thornton 61	Ryan Smyth 33
PTS	Joe Thornton 86	Ryan Smyth 59
PIM	Jody Shelley 116	Ian Laperriere 163
SOG	Joe Pavelski 266	Ryan Smyth 257

San Jose is proving that its strong start is not a fluke, beating last season's Stanley Cup finalists the past two games. A week ago, perhaps the Colorado Avalanche were in better position to give the Sharks another tough test.

The Sharks, off to their best start in franchise history, look to hand the once-surging Avalanche their third straight loss when the teams meet Sunday night.

San Jose (9-2-0) has won three straight and its 18 points lead the Western Conference. The past two games have been particularly satisfying for the Sharks.

San Jose beat defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit 4-2 on Thursday night, two days after setting a franchise record by holding runner-up Pittsburgh to 11 shots in a 2-1 victory.

"We have the respect around the league as a good team," Sharks winger Ryane Clowe said. "We're showing this year that we're ready to take the next step."

Now, San Jose will face a Colorado team that has had its confidence shaken, losing two straight after a five-game winning streak.

The Avalanche (5-5-0) have been held to two goals during their skid. After games on Oct. 23, they were leading the league with 28 goals.

San Jose, meanwhile, has tightened up on defense after struggling for a stretch. The Sharks have allowed three goals in their last three games after surrendering 18 in their previous four.

Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves versus the Red Wings. He has allowed two goals in each of his last three games against Colorado, going 2-1-0.

Against Detroit, San Jose's offense also got hot after scoring three goals or less in each of its previous three games.

Jamie McGinn ended a memorable first week with San Jose by scoring his first career goal and adding an assist Thursday.

The 20-year-old winger, the Sharks' second-round pick in 2006, made his NHL debut against the Penguins, playing just over 5 minutes. He got an even bigger opportunity against Detroit, playing on San Jose's fourth line.

"I'm real excited about him," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "It's a really exciting time for him. Often when young players get called up they play on emotion the first three or four games. We'll see how he responds as time goes on."

Colorado is in desperate need of a spark on offense. The Avalanche have been held to three goals in regulation during their last two home games after scoring 13 times in their first three contests at the Pepsi Center.

"We're trying to do too much," Colorado center Paul Stastny said. "We're trying to make the extra pass instead of putting the puck on net, go for the rebound and getting the ugly goals. Maybe we've been a little too fancy. When we were winning we got away with so many fancy goals."

Colorado lost 4-2 to Columbus on Thursday night, two days after falling 3-0 at Calgary.

Andrew Raycroft, who finished with 10 saves against the Blue Jackets, gave up four goals in his first 13 shots before being pulled in favor of Peter Budaj to start the third period. The Avalanche will likely turn back to Budaj, who is 3-4-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average.

Colorado and San Jose split four meetings last season.