Neal Pionk.“It’s hard to play games when you sit that long in the box,” Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello said. “At the end of the day, they were the better team than us.”Colorado was getting all the bounces, with

Now that the Christmas break is over Custom New York Islanders Jerseys , the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks can focus on getting back in the win column.The Pacific Division rivals are each trying to avoid a fourth straight loss Thursday night at SAP Center. For the Sharks, the league’s three-day hiatus couldn’t have come at a better time.“I feel like our team’s running on fumes a little bit, the tank’s a little empty,” coach Peter DeBoer said after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. “We’ve had to dig deep the last two nights to find a way to scratch out a couple of points.”Article continues below ...The latest setback came after San Jose (19-12-7) dropped a 3-2 decision to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. The Sharks opened their homestand with a 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 20.“All three of them, we should have collected points,” San Jose center Logan Couture said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a step backward. I’d say we weren’t at our best.”For Anaheim (19-14-5), the challenge isn’t just in ending its skid. The Ducks managed only two goals during their losing streak and went into the break with a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.Ryan Getzlaf told the Orange County Register that the club didn’t finish the Eastern part of a season-high six straight games on the road strongly but also chose to look at the bigger picture.“The biggest message was that we’ve accomplished a lot in the last month and don’t let this derail us from what we want to accomplish,” he said. “Come back energized and ready to play again.”From Nov. 27 through Dec. 17, Anaheim scored 36 goals while winning nine of 10. Getzlaf, Ondrej Kase and Pontus Aberg each collected more than 10 points over that span.“If you look at the bulk of the work we’ve had the last month or so, there’s a lot of good things to build off,” defenseman Josh Manson told the Register. “I think we’re playing a good brand of hockey. Look at those games we were winning. What needs to change when we’re winning?“You don’t want to start picking your whole game apart because you lost three (straight).”Even with their respective slides, the Ducks and Sharks remain near the top of a tightly packed division.“This league www.officialhockeyrangersshop.com , the margin of error is very small. The parity is very good regardless of the records and if you’re off a little bit, you’re going to have tough nights,” DeBoer said.One player Anaheim will not face in its first game back is Erik Karlsson, who is wrapping up a two-game suspension. The defenseman drew the first ban of his 10-year career for a check to the head of Los Angeles winger Austin Wagner on Saturday.Karlsson has an eight-game assist streak and collected 19 (two goals, 17 assists) of his 26 points this season since Nov. 13.However, this will be the 1,000th game for teammate and fellow blueliner Brent Burns. A two-time Norris Trophy winner and three-time 20-goal scorer, Burns leads San Jose with 31 assists and is second with 35 points.Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Burns leads all NHL defensemen with 111 goals and is second with 361 points, trailing only Karlsson.The Sharks and Ducks split the first two meetings this season since San Jose swept Anaheim in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche had New York boxed in from the start.All game, really, with Colorado going on 10 power plays to keep the Rangers on the defensive throughout.Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen set the early tone with power-play goals in the first period, helping the Avalanche end a six-game slide with a 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday night.Colorado finished with its most power-play opportunities since Oct. 16 New York Rangers T-Shirts Authentic , 2008, when the team had 11 against Philadelphia.“The way we’ve been struggling lately it feels so good to get a win,” defenseman Tyson Barrie said.Gabriel Landeskog added a goal off his right skate, Alexander Kerfoot tipped in a shot, Rantanen deflected in yet another and Ryan Graves closed out the scoring with his first career NHL goal as a struggling Avalanche squad won for the first time since Dec. 19.Colorado finished 3 of 10 on the power play, with two of the goals scored following a 5-minute boarding call on former Avalanche player Cody McLeod just 2 1/2 minutes in.“It’s been losing hockey. It’s been negative — negative video, a negative vibe around the rink,” MacKinnon said. “It’s nice to finally end it.”To Rangers coach David Quinn, this loss boiled down to one thing — all those penalties. The Avalanche had 15:23 of power-play time.“You have zero chance to win a hockey game in that way,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t our night from the get-go. We created a lot of our own problems with the penalties.”Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves, including one on a penalty shot by Jimmy Vesey late in the third.Ryan Strome scored the Rangers’ lone goal midway through third period on a night they were outshot by a 47-25 margin. Alexandar Georgiev attempted to keep things close while giving Henrik Lundqvist a night off. Lundqvist was pulled Wednesday after allowing six goals in a loss to Pittsburgh.Barrie had three assists to give him 278 career points, the most by a defenseman in franchise history. Barrie broke the mark held by John-Michael Liles.“Finally nice to get it out of the way and put it behind me,” Barrie said. ” It’s something I can look back on and take pride in it. Johnny’s a great guy and a great player New York Rangers Hoodies Authentic , so it’s nice to pass him and take him out to dinner.”After the morning skate, the Avalanche reiterated over and over the importance of a fast start to break out of their 0-4-2 skid.This helped their cause: Going on the power play early when McLeod slammed the face of defenseman Samuel Girard into the glass on a big hit. MacKinnon scored on a high wrist shot over Georgiev’s glove at 4:40, with Rantanen adding another 2:13 later when his pass went in off the stick of New York defenseman Neal Pionk.“It’s hard to play games when you sit that long in the box,” Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello said. “At the end of the day, they were the better team than us.”Colorado was getting all the bounces, with Landeskog knocking in a goal with his right skate midway through the second period. The Avalanche led 5-0 in the third before Strome ended Grubauer’s shutout bid on a breakaway.Graves scored his first career goal following a rebound in the third. He was selected by New York in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, before being dealt to Colorado last February.“Regardless of who we were playing, it’s pretty sweet,” Graves said of his goal.NOTES: Rangers C Kevin Hayes missed the game with an upper body injury. … Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov remains day-to-day with a lower body injury. … The Avs are stumping for Landeskog to make the All-Star team through the “Last Men In” vote from the fans. There were buttons and signs that read, “Vote Gabe in.” … MacKinnon and Landeskog each have 25 goals this season.UP NEXT:Rangers: Stop No. 2 on a three-game trip will be Sunday in Arizona.Avalanche: Open a five-game trip Tuesday in Winnipeg.