Schedule and 2002 Results
Regular Season Records: Colorado 45-28-8-1=99pts, San Jose 44-27-8-3=99pts
Game 1 on Wednesday, 1 May: S.J. wins at Col., 6-goals-3
Game 2 on Saturday, 4 May: S.J. loses at Col., 8-goals-2
Game 3 on Monday, 6 May: Col. loses at S.J., 6-goals-4
Game 4 on Wednesday, 8 May: Col. wins at S.J., 4-goals-1
Game 5 on Saturday, 11 May: S.J. wins at Col., 5-goals-3
Game 6 on Monday, 13 May: Col. wins at S.J., 2-goals-1 (OT)
Game 7 on Wednesday, 15 May: S.J. loses at Col., 1-goal-nil

SERIES NOTES: Post Game 7 assessment: Colorado defeats San Jose 1-goal-nil to win their best-of-7 NHL playoff series 4-games-3. The victory improves Colorado's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 7 record to 2-0 (both wins occurring at home), while dropping that of San Jose to 0-1. The Colorado Avalanche best-of-7 playoff series record is now 16-4 (and an NBA/NHL-best 6-0 in the NHL Quarterfinals round or the Western Conference Semifinals round). The San Jose Sharks best-of-7 playoff series record is now 4-7 (and 0-4 in the NHL Quarterfinals: That 0-4 mark ties that of the now-moribund NBA Charlotte Hornets as the worst in best-of-7 NBA/NHL Qtrs-round play. The LWLWLWW win order in series 859 is the fourth in the NHL Quarterfinals, the sixth in the NHL (all rounds), and the 14th in MLB/NBA/NHL (all rounds) best-of-7 playoff series. Series 859 becomes the third NHL best-of-7 playoff series to end with a team winning Game 7 by a 1-goal-nil shutout on home ice. Post Game 6 assessment: With its goal 2:47 into the first overtime, Colorado defeats San Jose 2-goals-1 to tie their series at 3-games-all. Colorado thus improves its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 6 record to 3-1 (3-1 on the road), while that for San Jose falls to 0-2 (0-1 at home). The 0-2 San Jose best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 6 record ties the Sharks with the NHL Vancouver Canucks and the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers at the bottom of the best-7 Qtrs-round Game 6 table. When tied 3-games-all in a best-of-7 series, Colorado has a series record of 3-3, while San Jose has a series record of 3-1. Colorado has won its last three Game 7s (in the 2001 Qtrs, 2001 Finals, and 2002 Prelim round); San Jose has won its last two (in the 1995 and 2000 Prelim rounds). Precedent for Colorado: The last NHL team to win a series LWLWLWW was the Toronto Maple Leafs in best-of-7 series 661 (a 1994 Qtrs-round series over the San Jose Sharks). Precedent for San Jose: The last NHL team to win a series WLWLWLW was the Boston Bruins in best-of-7 series 584 (a 1991 Qtrs-round series over the Montreal Canadiens). Post Game 5 assessment: San Jose visits and defeats Colorado 5-goals-3 to take a 3-games-2 series lead. San Jose thus now sports a best-of-7 format Qtrs-round Game 5 record of 2-1 (1-1 on the road), while Colorado's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 5 record is 4-2 (4-2 at home). When leading a best-of-7 playoff series 3-games-2, the San Jose Sharks have a 2-1 series record, while the Colorado Avalanche have a 1-2 series record when trailing a best-of-7 series 3-games-2. Post Game 4 assessment: Colorado defeats San Jose 4-goals-1 to tie their series 2-games-all. Profile in contrast: The win improves Colorado's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 record to an NBA/NHL-best 6-0 (6-0 on the road), while the loss lowers San Jose's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 record to an NBA/NHL-worst 0-4 (0-4 at home). When tied 2-games-all in a best-of-7 series, the Colorado Avalanche have a series record of 6-2, while the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 2-4. Post Game 3 assessment: San Jose hosts and defeats Colorado 6-goals-4 to take a 2-games-1 series lead. Through three games, 29 goals have been scored thus far in series 859 -- the most in the first three games of an NHL best-of-7 series since series 678 (a 1995 NHL Prelim-round series in which San Jose defeated Calgary in seven games, in which 29 goals were also scored in the first three games). With the victory, San Jose improves its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 record to 3-1 (all four games at home), while Colorado sees its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 record fall to 2-4 (all six games on the road). When leading a best-of-7 playoff series 2-games-1, San Jose has a 3-1 series record; when trailing a best-of-7 playoff series 2-games-1, Colorado has a 2-2 series record. Post Game 2 assessment: By winning Game 2 by an 8-goals-2 score, Colorado improves its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 2 record to 5-1 (5-1 at home), while that for San Jose falls to an NBA/NHL worst 0-4 (0-4 on the road). When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 series, San Jose has a 3-2 series record, while Colorado's series record in this situation is 4-4. The six-goal margin of victory for Colorado is the largest in a best-of-7 series Game 2 since series 712, in which Colorado defeated Florida 8-goals-1 in Game 2 of the 1996 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Post Game 1 assessment: San Jose scored the most goals on the road in Game 1 of a best-of-7 NHL Quarterfinals series since 1994, when visiting Vancouver also tallied a half-dozen goals (vs. Dallas). San Jose improves its best-of-7 Qtrs Game 1 record to 2-2 (2-2 on the road), while that for Colorado falls to 2-4 (2-4 at home). The San Jose Sharks franchise has a 3-1 best-of-7 series record when winning Game 1. The Colorado Avalanche franchise (since 1996) also has a 3-1 best-of-seven series record when losing Game 1. Pre-series assessment: In the 2001-02 regular season, Colorado and San Jose finished tied in regular-season points with 99 each. Since Colorado tallied one more win, the Avalanche won home-ice advantage for this series. From 1939 through the 2002 NHL Preliminary round, when NHL best-of-7 opponents were tied in regular-season points, the team playing Game 1 at home (and thus usually holding home-ice advantage) has gone on to post a 6-5 (.545) best-of-7 series record in that series against that opponent.