10:30 P.M: Sharks, Avs Set To Break Deadlock In Game 5

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(Sports Network) - The top-seeded San Jose Sharks will try to take their first lead of the Western Conference quarterfinals tonight, when they host the Colorado Avalanche for Game 5 at HP Pavilion.

The Sharks and Avs have alternated wins so far in this best-of-seven series, with Colorado taking Games 1 and 3 and San Jose posting OT victories in the even-numbered contests. All four games have been decided by just one goal and the last three tilts have ended in overtime.

Joe Pavelski was the hero in Game 4, scoring the game-winning goal 10:24 into overtime to help San Jose earn the 2-1 win and tie the series at two games apiece.

On the winning goal, San Jose left winger Ryane Clowe started a rush out of the defensive zone. He fed the puck ahead to defenseman Douglas Murray, who tried to flip the puck deep into the Avalanche end of the ice. The puck was knocked down and got tangled in skates. A trailing Pavelski spotted the loose puck and his wrister from the slot sailed over the glove of Anderson, whose vision was obstructed.

"I was kind of using (Colorado defenseman Adam Foote) for a screen, hoping that Anderson doesn't see it," Pavelski said. "I was able to get it by him. Anderson was great all night again."

Pavelski's notched his second goal of these playoffs. His first tied Game 2 with 31.3 seconds left in regulation and preceded teammate Devin Setoguchi's overtime marker.

With the win, San Jose rebounded nicely from a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Sunday's Game 3 matchup in Denver. The Sharks couldn't find a way to beat Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson on Sunday, but found a way to beat Evgeni Nabokov on Dan Boyle's blunder. The veteran defenseman tried to send the puck behind his net, but the puck deflected off the stick of Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly and past Nabokov 51 seconds into the extra session, giving the youthful Avalanche a stunning 1-0 victory.

Paul Stastny scored the lone goal for Colorado in the Game 4 loss.

"I thought there were a lot of positives out of that game. We had quite a few chances in overtime to put them away. It only takes one shot and they got it," said Colorado forward T.J. Galiardi.

Winger Dany Heatley returned from a one-game absence for the Sharks and had four shots on goal. Heatley, who was second on San Jose with 39 goals during the regular season and third on the club with 82 points. He missed Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.

Defenseman Niclas Wallin (lower body) and winger Jed Ortmeyer (undisclosed) are questionable for tonight's game for the Sharks.

On the Colorado side, forwards Milan Hejduk, Kevin Porter and Ryan Stoa are all questionable for tonight. Hejduk and Porter are dealing with upper-body injuries, while Stoa has a lower-body ailment..

The Sharks are trying to avoid losing to an eighth-seed in the opening round for the second straight year. Last year, the San Jose entered the playoffs fresh off a 117-point season that netted them the Presidents' Trophy and high expectations, but the Sharks dropped the first two games against the Anaheim Ducks and wound up losing the series in six.

These two clubs are meeting in the postseason for the fourth time, with the last matchup coming in 2004. The Sharks won that series, 4-2, in the semifinals before losing in six games to the Flames in the conference finals.