by Susan SlusserFiled under: Avalanche, Sharks, Western, NHL Playoffs
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Pavelski is called "Little Joe" in the Sharks' dressing room to differentiate him from Big Joe - Jumbo Joe Thornton.Pavelski is differentiating himself in other ways, too, in top-seeded San Jose's tight first-round series against No. 8 Colorado. The second-line center has been the Sharks' go-to guy, scoring his third goal of the playoffs on Thursday night in San Jose's 5-0 victory over the Avalanche.
Pavelski's power-play goal was the Sharks' second score of the night, and it provided the first lead of more than one goal in the entire series, for either team.
"You're never going to hear me complain about cushions," Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov said with a grin.
Nabokov nabbed his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Sharks took a 3-2 lead in the series, which they could wrap up in Denver on Saturday night. The game time has been set for 10 p.m. Eastern.
Right now, Pavelski is the Sharks' No. 1 star through the first five games, with three goals and two assists.
"Joe is playing good hockey for us," said Ryan Clowe, who is one of Pavelski's wingers along with Devin Setoguchi. "He's determined. He's not the biggest guy, he gets his nose dirty, he's reliable, he has a nose for the net. I just try to get to the net because he loves to shoot it and Seto does, too. I like our line. We're hungry, hungry to produce. We knew we needed secondary scoring and we've done that.
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