Getty Marcus Sorensen and the San Jose Sharks will take on Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche.
The Colorado Avalanche will visit the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center on Saturday.
The game is scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBC Sports California (local markets), NBC Sports Washington (local markets), Altitude Sports (local markets) and ESPN+. If you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch a live stream of the game, whether you live in the teams’ market or not:
If The Game is Out of Your Market
Viewers who live outside of the Avalanche and Sharks market can watch a live stream of the game via ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable required) that has coverage of NHL games each day, including during the playoffs.
(And for fans of other sports, ESPN+ has exclusive coverage of many other sports, including UFC PPV events, the Lomachenko vs Crolla fight on April 12 and all FA Cup soccer matches)
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
If The Game is in Your Market
The main FuboTV bundle includes 85-plus live TV channels, including NBC Sports California (local markets), NBC Sports California (local markets) and NBC Sports Washington (local markets), but Altitude Sports is not available on FuboTV.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: The upper three bundles all include NBC Sports California (local markets) and NBC Sports Washington (local markets), but Altitude Sports is not available on Vue.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including NBC Sports California (local markets) and NBC Sports Washington (local markets), but Altitude Sports is not available on Hulu.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
Avalanche vs Sharks Preview
On Thursday, the Avalanche bested the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime to clinch a consecutive playoff berth for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.
“That’s what we want,” Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said, according to The Denver Post. “We’re a team that prides ourselves off being consistent, and if we’re going to eventually win a cup, we need to make the playoffs every year.”
MacKinnon set up the game-winner, finding Erik Johnson for the defenseman’s seventh goal of the season.
Colorado trailed 2-0 after the first period but got goals from Tyson Barrie and Carl Soderberg in the second and third periods, respectively.
“As a competitive athlete and hockey player, the goal should be to win a Stanley Cup,” defenseman Ian Cole said, per the Post. “Anything short of that is a failure. The first step of that is getting into the playoffs and it should never be, ‘If we get in.'”
It was Colorado’s eighth win in 10 contests.
“To kick down the front door and get in the playoffs and finish the way we finished is an exceptional job by our leaders, by all the guys stepping up,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said, according to the Associated Press. “I love the character and push and determination and will-to-win from our group.”
The Avalanche haven’t won a playoff series since they topped the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in the first round in 2008.
“Our mindset is not just going to be: ‘Yeah, we got in, great, let’s go have some fun in the playoffs,'” Bednar told the Post. “We’re going into it with a purpose and I think that’s the feeling our group will have. Because if we keep playing the way we’re playing right now, we can be a dangerous hockey team.”
Also on Thursday, San Jose topped the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 thanks in part to a 28-save performance from Aaron Dell. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns gave his side a 2-1 lead midway through the first period, then assisted on Gustav Nyquist’s tie-breaking goal late in the second.
They’d won just once in their previous 10 games.
“It was good to get a win,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said, according to the Associated Press. “We are getting closer. Our detail is getting a bit better. Some guys who have been out of the lineup are starting to get their legs again. That takes a little bit of time. We are working our way there. It’s not there yet, but I am confident by next week that it will be.”
With 99 points, San Jose is the No. 2 seed in the West, but they can drop to No. 3 with a regulation loss and a Nashville Predators victory.