San Jose coach Peter DeBoer talks about Logan Couture as playing at another level at this time of the year. Couture proved his coach right once again.

Couture scored his NHL-leading 16th go-ahead goal six minutes into the third period and the Sharks improved their chances for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

”It was a big power play Nate Solder Jersey ,” Couture said. ”I think we moved the puck around OK on the first one we had. The second one, just a great play by (Kevin) Labanc to find me. (Goalie Jonathan) Bernier was out of the net. Actually, the puck hopped on my stick. I wasn’t trying to shoot it along the ice. I got a little lucky.”

Justin Braun, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Sharks, who snapped a four-game losing streak and kept their one-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks for second-place in the Pacific Division.

”That’s not an easy game for us under the circumstances and some of the guys out,” DeBoer said. ”I thought we dug deep and found a way to win an important game at an important time of year.”

Mikko Rantanen and Blake Comeau scored for the Avalanche, who missed an opportunity to increase their lead over the St. Louis Blues for a playoff spot.

Martin Jones stopped 23 shots for the Sharks. Bernier saved 32 for the Avalanche.

Less than three minutes into the first period, Braun scored on a slap shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the arm or stick of a Colorado defender, giving Bernier no chance to adjust.

”That was huge. We needed that just to kind of put those other teams in the rear view a little bit,” Braun said. ”If we hold onto second here on Saturday and go from there, get home ice in the first round. It would be huge.”

The Avalanche tied the score with a power-play goal at 15:17. Jones blocked the first two shots but could not control them. The second bounced free toward the side, and Rantanen was able to get it by a diving Jones.

Tyson Barrie earned an assist on the play, giving him a career-best 43. His 56 points match Rob Blake for most by an Avalanche defenseman in the past 16 years.

Colorado has scored on the power play in each of its last four games and is 6 of 11 during that span. It also has allowed a power-play goal in each of the past five games.

Couture scored on a power play 77 seconds after the Avalanche tied the game. Labanc recorded the first assist with a nice crossing pass.

The Blues will enter Saturday’s game in Denver either up a point or down a point, meaning the final game of the regular season will determine which team goes to the playoffs and which team goes home.

”We’ll have to take advantage of home ice. This is Game 7 for us Laquon Treadwell Jersey ,” said Mark Barberio, who returned to action after a long absence. ”These are the moments we play for: a chance to make the playoffs.”

Donskoi scored midway through the final period to make it 3-1. Dylan DeMelo took a shot that Bernier stopped, but Donsoi took it away and put it in the net before Bernier could cover.

Two minutes later, Comeau redirected a shot by David Warsofsky to make it 3-2.

Hertl scored an empty-net goal in the final two seconds.

”It comes down to one game. It’s going to be a fun one,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. ”We’ll have to earn every inch of the ice.”

NOTES: Colorado C Carl Soderberg played in his 399th NHL game. … Couture has points in three of his last four games. … Sharks F Evander Kane missed his second straight game as a result of an upper-body injury sustained last Saturday in Las Vegas.

UP NEXT:

Avalanche: Host St. Louis on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

Sharks: Host Minnesota on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

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The New Jersey Devils proved in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning that they are not a team simply content with reaching the postseason.

After climbing back into this best-of-seven Monday with a gritty 5-2 victory over the Lightning, the Devils are talking tough, even though they still trail the series 2-1.

“We showed it’s going to be a series,” said Devils forward Blake Coleman. “It’s going to be a dogfight.”

Such sets the stage for what should be an intriguing Game 4 at the Prudential Center on Wednesday night.

The Lightning won the first two games of this series in Tampa, 5-2 and 5-3, and twice led Game 3 by the scores of 1-0 and 2-1 early in the third period. However, the Devils unloaded 20 shots in the final period, took advantage of an uncharacteristically undisciplined Lightning squad, and scored four times — twice into an empty net — to secure the organization’s first playoff victory in six years.

“We did it to ourselves,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper.

That feeling is the prevailing sentiment around the Lightning heading into Game 4. Lightning players and coaches firmly believe that LeSean McCoy Jersey , as the Eastern Conference’s top seed and far more experienced team in the series, what happens on the ice is largely on them, not the Devils.

“It’s not one game, it’s a series,” said Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, who logged more than 28 minutes in the Game 3 defeat. “We’re still on top and got to refocus and regroup to get ready for the next one.”

Special teams have been a big part of this series, so far. The Lightning handed the Devils seven power plays Monday, and the Devils tied the game in the third period on a Will Butcher 5-on-3 power play goal. On the flip side, the Lightning also scored two more power play goals, giving them five in nine opportunities in the series.

“They have such a lethal power play that if you give them one, two, three, four, five opportunities a night Coby Fleener Jersey , they’re going to make you pay,” said Devils alternate captain Taylor Hall. “On the other side, our power play didn’t really come through when we wanted it to — though we got the one on the 5-on-3 that got us back in the game — but we have to regroup and figure out what we have to do against their penalty kill.”

Hall, coming off a Hart Trophy-worthy regular season, turned in a brilliant performance Monday and has five points in the first three games of the series. He tied the game with his second goal of the series in the second period, then assisted on Butcher’s game-tying tally and made a gorgeous rush up ice before setting up Stefan Noesen’s eventual game-winner at 12:55 of the third period.

“He’s so consistent, does it every night,” teammate Marcus Johansson said of Hall, who had a career-high 93 points in 2017-18. “He scores big goals, creates a lot of offense for him and his linemates. I’m really impressed with the way he’s been playing all year.”

After shaky goaltending from Keith Kinkaid in the first two games of the series, the Devils switched to Cory Schneider in Game 3 and he stopped 34 of 36 shots, making a stunning save on a Ryan McDonagh breakaway with the score tied in the third period.

“Me and (Brian Boyle) looked at each other halfway through the game and said this is the Cory we know,” shared Coleman, who scored one of two empty-net goals for New Jersey near the end of the game.

Despite the rousing finish and gutty effort by the home team Rayshawn Jenkins Jersey , the Lightning are still up a game and in the driver’s seat heading into Game 4. A win Thursday and they head back to Florida one victory away from advancing to the second round.

Considering they did not trail for a single second over the first 172 minutes, 55 seconds of the series, the Lightning have plenty of reason to be confident ahead of Wednesday’s much-anticipated clash.

“We still feel like we’re in a good spot in the series,” said McDonagh. “If we keep ourselves within our system and playing the right way, we feel we’ve got a good chance.”

The Lightning could be without two of their top forwards on Wednesday, however. Ryan Callahan, who missed Game 3 with an upper-body injury, did not practice Tuesday and neither did Tyler Johnson, who scored goals in each of the first two games down in Tampa, but needed a maintenance day Tuesday for unspecified reasons.

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