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A quirk in the schedule has the Colorado Avalanche about to make their only visit of the season to Northern California — and perhaps not a moment too soon for the San Jose Sharks.

Looking to end a late-season swoon Alfred Blue Jersey , San Jose will try to extend its dominance on home ice over playoff-hopeful Colorado on Thursday night.

The Sharks’ losing streak reached four after falling 4-2 to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. San Jose gave up three goals in the final 5:17 and managed one shot on goal in the third period.

“Tough lesson learned, but we still control our own destiny,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.

San Jose (44-26-10) is second in the Pacific, one point over Anaheim and two ahead of Los Angeles. The Sharks, who have lost twice in overtime to the Wild this season, meet them in the season finale on Saturday at SAP Center.

Anaheim clinched a spot by beating the Wild on Wednesday, while Los Angeles clinched when St. Louis lost 4-3 to Chicago on Wednesday.

San Jose winger Logan Couture, who scored his team-high 33rd goal against the Stars, told the league’s official website that team must find a way to win again.

“We’re fighting for home ice in the first round here. We have to dial it up. You can’t coast for very long in the NHL and win hockey games Henry Anderson Jersey ,” he said.

San Jose has dropped both matchups with Colorado in Denver this season, but it’s been a much different story when the teams meet in the Bay Area.

The Sharks have won 15 of the last 16 matchups dating back to March 2009. San Jose has been held to fewer than three goals twice, while Colorado has scored one goal or fewer 10 times in those contests.

Martin Jones has two wins — but he also has the only loss — in that span versus the Avs. He also stopped only 34 of 41 shots in this season’s series. Jones, who still needs one win to reach 30 for the third time with San Jose, has been reached for 10 goals while losing three straight starts.

Backup Aaron Dell has never faced Colorado, which fell to 1-3-1 in its last five games with a 3-1 loss to Los Angeles on Monday.

“Our mindset is we’re underdogs. We go out there, and we’re having fun. We have a young team, but there are still no excuses. We should be in this playoff spot, and we should be in the playoffs.” Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov said.

Colorado (42-29-9) holds a one-point lead over the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference. With one playoff spot up for grabs Kendall Lamm Jersey , the Avs and St. Louis each have two games left — and close the regular season against each other Saturday in Denver.

Saturday’s game will likely decide the final playoff spot. St. Louis plays at Chicago on Friday.

“We cannot control what the Blues did or what they are going to do later. We got one game against them, we got a game in San Jose. We need to focus, reload, and then go up there and win those two hockey games,” Zadorov added.

Jonathan Bernier has surrendered only four goals while beating the Sharks twice this season. Bernier, who’s taken over with Semyon Varlamov (knee) out for the season, has won each of his last two starts in San Jose.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are tied for the team lead with three points apiece against the Sharks this season.

MacKinnon, who leads the team with 94 points, needs two goals to reach 40 for the first time in his career. Rantanen is two goals shy of 30 for the season and 50 in his career.

The Washington Capitals will raise their first Stanley Cup banner and open their title defense on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins – not the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

Washington did not face the Bruins during its Cup run but has beaten them 12 consecutive times in regular-season play. The Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets Reggie Wayne Jersey , Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights for the first championship in their 43-season franchise history.

After winning the Cup in Las Vegas and enjoying a parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington, banner night is the next chance for the Capitals to celebrate together.

”It’s gonna be emotional,” captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin said. ”I’m just happy for this organization. I’m just happy I’m the guy who lift the Cup first and I’m the guy who been in this 13 years, since Day One. Lots of people been here, lots of coaches, lots of players. … I’m happy those guys with me, and we share it together.”

The Capitals will open the rival Penguins’ season on Oct. 4 in Pittsburgh and serve as the road team in one other home opener, at New Jersey on Oct. 11. The NHL announced home openers for all 31 teams on Wednesday and will release the full schedule on Thursday.

The Capitals were there for the Penguins’ banner-raising ceremony in 2016 after losing to Pittsburgh in the second round. Many of the Capitals players who were there for that and hoped it would serve as motivation now get to experience their own night this fall.

”We won on the road Charles Clay Jersey , so it’ll kind of turn into a celebration for our fans again,” Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ”Just in our rink and stuff, watching that banner go up will be cool for everybody involved.”

The Western Conference-champion Golden Knights open their second season on Oct. 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers. As previously announced, the Devils will face the Edmonton Oilers in each team’s season opener on Oct. 6 in Gothenburg, Sweden, after finishing up exhibition play in Europe.

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