Colorado Avalanche: San Jose Sharks Vying to Be the New Rivals

The Colorado Avalanche played a chippy game against the San Jose Sharks, which may be a sign of what’s to come.

The Colorado Avalanche had a heated game with the San Jose Sharks last night. Colorado, after being embarrassed on their California trip, did their Colorado thing and blew out the Sharks. It was fun to watch former Minny goalie Devan Dubnyk keep dropping his stick.

Matters got chippy between the two teams at the end of the game. The Sharks were hardly a relevant team last year as they simply couldn’t find ways to win games. Until last night’s game, they had the same record as Colorado, so maybe they had a chance.

Well, as I noted, the Avs put paid to that, as least as far as last night’s game went. They looked like they wanted to let the Sharks into the game at time, but for the most part they played dominant hockey. I mean, what else would you call this:

More from Analysis

• 4 goalies to replace Pavel Francouz if he has to miss time
• What does Ross Colton bring to the Colorado Avalanche?
• Colorado Avalanche in-depth look at Jonathan Drouin
• Colorado Avalanche without Gabriel Landeskog, will another wear the “C”?
• Avalanche vs. Kraken prediction and odds for NHL playoffs Game 3

Honestly, the majority of Colorado’s goals were those pretty ones. Sure, I always say ugly goals count the same as pretty ones, but it’s fun to watch the pretty ones.

As the goals against the Sharks started to mount, their frustration boiled over. This is, after all, a team that employs Evander Kane. Indeed, he got into it with some Avs players at the end of the game. Luckily our captain of the blueline, Erik Johnson, was finally back in the lineup. With his enormous wingspan he was able to take on two Sharks players at once!

There was hate at the end of the Avs-Sharks series two years ago. None of us in Avs Nation will ever forget the offsides heard round the world. Nor will we forget the San Jose players targeting our stars.

Perhaps Mikko Rantanen remembers it, too:

As Rantanen points out, these series are like “two-game playoffs.” That’s sure to bring intensity.

So, the rivalries of the 1990s might be long gone. However, the San Jose Sharks are showing that they can be a candidate for the 2020s version of hockey rivalry. The Colorado Avalanche will face them seven more times, so we could see the hate continue to bloom.