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Sakic, Clark lift Avalanche over Sharks

Dec 8, 2006 - 6:19 AM SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Captain Joe Sakic, defenseman Brett Clark and the Colorado Avalanche did their best to redeem themselves after an embarrassing loss.

Sakic and Clark each had two goals and an assist to help lift the Avalanche to a 5-2 triumph over the San Jose Sharks.

Colorado, which snapped a two-game losing streak, rebounded after suffering a 3-0 home loss to the league's worst club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, on Tuesday.

"We needed this one," Sakic said. "We didn't play very well the other night, and I thought right from the get-go, guys were hungry, were strong on the puck. And you really have to be against that team because they've got a great hockey club over there. We seemed to get the jump on them tonight."

"A lot of guys didn't bring their A game tonight," San Jose center Joe Thornton said. "Obviously, it's disappointing to come back and lose the first game at home. We'll come back and start tomorrow and have a better game on Saturday."

The Sharks began a four-game road trip with three wins but finished it with a 1-0 loss at Dallas on Monday.

"I've seen this before," said San Jose coach Ron Wilson, whose club hosts Nashville on Saturday. "Your first game back after a fairly successful road trip, you sometimes aren't mentally ready to play. The bottom line is, you make some mental mistakes, costly ones. Unfortunately, we made them. You learn and you move on."

Brett McLean scored the game-winner at 14:02 of the second period, when he beat goaltender Vesa Toskala with a shot from the slot, giving the Avalanche a 3-2 lead.

Clark's second goal made it 4-2 with 54 seconds left in the second, and Sakic completed his two-goal effort at 7:34 of the third period. Clark entered with just one goal this season, while Sakic increased his team-leading total to 11.

"It's a very nice feeling," Clark said of his performance. "But I owe a lot of credit to the players that played in front of me. They gave me some great chances out there and Andrew (Brunette) made a great screen on the second one, so it was a full team effort and I was just happy to contribute."

Sakic's two goals ended a seven-game drought.

Jose Theodore finished with 28 saves, while Toskala stopped 20 shots. Both clubs were 1-for-7 on the power play.

"I just don't think we were ready to play tonight," Toskala said. "Maybe after the long road trip, we've been on the road so much, we came home and know we're going to stay here a while. Maybe we took our foot off the gas and maybe thought it's going to be easy because we are home now."

Jonathan Cheechoo and Thornton each scored their eighth goal of the season for the Sharks, but right wing Mike Grier was unsuccessful on a penalty shot shot in the second period as Theodore made a blocker save.

Colorado center Pierre Turgeon was activated from injured reserve before the game. Turgeon, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, played just 7 minutes, 51 seconds in his season debut, recording one shot on goal and a minor penalty for tripping in the first period.