Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks 5/3/21 - NHL Picks & Predictions

The Colorado Avalanche look to inch closer to first place in the West division when visiting the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Colorado is second in the division at 33-12-4 with 70 points and trails first place Vegas by four points. Colorado has won two straight including a 4-3 victory over San Jose on Saturday. Nathan MacKinnon scored one goal and added one assist in helping lead the Avalanche to the victory.

Mikko Rantanen is the leading goal scorer for Colorado with 28, while Nathan MacKinnon is the leader in assists with 43 and points with 63. In goal, Philipp Grubauer is 26-8-1 with a goals-against average of 1.94, save percentage of .922 and six shutouts. Colorado is scoring an average of 3.49 goals per game and allowing an average of 2.43 goals per game. Colorado's power play scores 23.5% of the time and its penalty kill unit is successful 82.1% of the time.

San Jose continues to struggle as the Sharks are 20-26-5 with 45 points. The Sharks have lost two straight and 10 of the last 12. San Jose is sixth in the West division trailing its closest competitor the Arizona Coyotes by five points and well out of playoff contention. San Jose has had problems keeping the puck out of its own net as the Sharks are allowing an average of  3.39 goals per game.

Evander Kane is leading San Jose in goals scored with 20, assists with 23 and points with 43. In goal, Martin Jones is 15-13-3 with a goals-against average of 3.22, save percentage of .898 and one shutout. San Jose is scoring an average of only 2.61 goals per game and allows an average of 3.39 goals per game. San Jose's power play scores 14.5% of the time and it's penalty-kill unit is successful 80.1% of the time.