SAN JOSE Braden Holtby Jersey , Calif. (AP) San Jose coach Peter DeBoer talks about Logan Couture as playing at another level at this time of the year. Couture proved his coach right once again.Couture scored his NHL-leading 16th go-ahead goal six minutes into the third period and the Sharks improved their chances for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.”It was a big power play,” Couture said. ”I think we moved the puck around OK on the first one we had. The second one, just a great play by (Kevin) Labanc to find me. (Goalie Jonathan) Bernier was out of the net. Actually, the puck hopped on my stick. I wasn’t trying to shoot it along the ice. I got a little lucky.”Justin Braun, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Sharks, who snapped a four-game losing streak and kept their one-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks for second-place in the Pacific Division.”That’s not an easy game for us under the circumstances and some of the guys out,” DeBoer said. ”I thought we dug deep and found a way to win an important game at an important time of year.”Mikko Rantanen and Blake Comeau scored for the Avalanche, who missed an opportunity to increase their lead over the St. Louis Blues for a playoff spot.Martin Jones stopped 23 shots for the Sharks. Bernier saved 32 for the Avalanche.Less than three minutes into the first period, Braun scored on a slap shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the arm or stick of a Colorado defender, giving Bernier no chance to adjust.”That was huge. We needed that just to kind of put those other teams in the rear view a little bit Youth Christian Djoos Jersey ,” Braun said. ”If we hold onto second here on Saturday and go from there, get home ice in the first round. It would be huge.”The Avalanche tied the score with a power-play goal at 15:17. Jones blocked the first two shots but could not control them. The second bounced free toward the side, and Rantanen was able to get it by a diving Jones.Tyson Barrie earned an assist on the play, giving him a career-best 43. His 56 points match Rob Blake for most by an Avalanche defenseman in the past 16 years.Colorado has scored on the power play in each of its last four games and is 6 of 11 during that span. It also has allowed a power-play goal in each of the past five games.Couture scored on a power play 77 seconds after the Avalanche tied the game. Labanc recorded the first assist with a nice crossing pass.The Blues will enter Saturday’s game in Denver either up a point or down a point, meaning the final game of the regular season will determine which team goes to the playoffs and which team goes home.”We’ll have to take advantage of home ice. This is Game 7 for us,” said Mark Barberio, who returned to action after a long absence. ”These are the moments we play for: a chance to make the playoffs.”Donskoi scored midway through the final period to make it 3-1. Dylan DeMelo took a shot that Bernier stopped, but Donsoi took it away and put it in the net before Bernier could cover.Two minutes later, Comeau redirected a shot by David Warsofsky to make it 3-2.Hertl scored an empty-net goal in the final two seconds.”It comes down to one game. It’s going to be a fun one,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. ”We’ll have to earn every inch of the ice.”NOTES: Colorado C Carl Soderberg played in his 399th NHL game. … Couture has points in three of his last four games. … Sharks F Evander Kane missed his second straight game as a result of an upper-body injury sustained last Saturday in Las Vegas.UP NEXT:Avalanche: Host St. Louis on Saturday in the regular-season finale.Sharks: Host Minnesota on Saturday in the regular-season finale.— PHILADELPHIA (AP) Marc-Andre Fleury has helped surprising Vegas by bringing a positive vibe and a contagious amount of confidence to the locker room. His play on the ice hasn’t been too shabby http://www.officialcapitals.com/authentic-adidas-andre-burakovsky-jersey , either.Fleury made 38 saves to become the 13th goalie in NHL history with 400 career wins, and Ryan Carpenter scored the winning goal with 2:40 left to lead the Golden Knights over the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday night.Erik Haula and William Karlsson also scored for the Pacific Division leaders, who won their third straight and completed a 4-1 road trip.Fleury, who earned his first NHL win on Oct. 18, 2003, became the third active goalie to reach the milestone, joining Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist.”That’s a huge accomplishment,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said.Besides Fleury’s on-ice resume, which includes three Stanley Cups, Gallant knew he was getting a strong leader at the beginning of the season.”I heard his personality was unbelievable http://www.officialcapitals.com/authentic-adidas-evgeny-kuznetsov-jersey ,” Gallant said. ”He’s a better person than goaltender, and that says a lot.”Fleury’s work on the ice against the Flyers was pretty special, too.His best save came 4:20 into the third period when he robbed Travis Sanheim with a tremendous glove save on a wrist shot from the point.”Just tried to react,” Fleury said.The Vegas goalie was happy to join the caliber of players who have reached 400 wins, but downplayed the accomplishment – at least for now.”Maybe I’ll be more proud when I’m done,” he said. ”But I’m still playing and look forward to the next game.”Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers, who have lost six of seven. Philadelphia sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points, two in front of Columbus and three ahead of New Jersey.”Got to flush it out and move forward,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.The Golden Knights were playing their first game since setting a record for road wins by an expansion team with Saturday’s 2-1 shootout victory at Buffalo. Vegas improved to 21-12-3 on the road and 45-19-5 overall.Carpenter netted the game-winner after strong work along the boards by Cody Eakin and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, both of whom got assists. Eakin got the puck to Carpenter Jakub Vrana Jersey , who fired a wrist shot from left of the post past Petr Mrazek’s glove side.Karlsson put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1 six minutes into the third period with their second power-play goal. Mrazek made a pad save on Shea Theodore’s deflection, but the puck went right to Karlsson and he fired into the open net for his team-leading 36th goal. Jonathan Marchessault picked up an assist, upping his team-best total to 66 points.Philadelphia answered 1:06 later with its own power-play goal to tie it. Simmonds took a cross-ice pass from Jakub Voracek and shot high over Fleury’s right shoulder.Haula opened the scoring with 13:43 left in the first when his shot from a sharp angle to the right of the net went off Mrazek’s stick and in.Grioux tied it 1:27 into the second period when his wrist shot from the slot beat Fleury on the glove side. It extended the captain’s point streak to seven games (three goals, five assists) while increasing his season total to 82 points.The Flyers dominated the second period, outshooting Vegas 16-8, but managed just one goal due in large part to Fleury. The veteran goaltender made two stellar saves, using his glove to deny Voracek with 8:38 remaining and closing his pads to stop Oskar Lindblom’s attempt from close range with 3:05 left in the period.”He’s been playing phenomenal and making huge saves when we need it,” Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland said. ”He’s been doing that all season.”NOTES: Philadelphia G Brian Elliott skated following the team’s morning skate for the first time since having surgery on Feb. 13 for a core muscle injury. Elliott is expected to miss up to two more weeks. … Flyers defensemen Robert Hagg (lower body) and Johnny Oduya (upper body) sat out. Hagg is out two weeks, and Oduya is day-to-day. … Voracek increased his assist total to 59. He entered play tied for the NHL lead with 58. … The teams split the two-game season series. The Flyers won 4-1 at Las Vegas on Feb. 11.UP NEXTGolden Knights: Open a four-game homestand against New Jersey on Wednesday night.Flyers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.—