Good and bad: Annunen steadies the ship in the first start as Avalanche beats San Jose 4-1

What looked like another dominant night from the Avalanche after 20 minutes quickly turned into a slower game and solid goaltending.

Colorado got two goals from Ross Colton to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on the road on Sunday. It's the Avs' second straight win after starting the season with four straight losses.

Colton continued to impress on both the power play and wing play, with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen being evenly strong. The 28-year-old has scored six goals this season, just one behind Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov for the most goals in the NHL. On his first score, Colton finished a one-timer in bumper position off a feed from MacKinnon on the PP, a similar goal to others he's had this season. And later in the half, Colton used his speed to break through two defenders, picked up a pass from Mikko Rantanen and placed it past goalkeeper Vitek Vanecek to make it 2-0.

A few minutes later, Colorado gave up a power play goal to the Sharks as the PK continued to struggle. It was only the fifth shot the Sharks had all game. Goalkeeper Justus Annunen didn't see much action in his first appearance before this goal. But that changed in the second third.

Joel Kiviranta equalized in the third period before Cale Makar capped a three-point night with an unanswered goal.

The Sharks outscored the Avs 26-22, but Annunen didn't allow another goal the rest of the way. If you ask me, it’s easy for me to decide on tonight’s “good.”

Good: Justus Annunen

It seemed like this game would be a repeat of the dominant performance against Anaheim two nights earlier. But with the changing dynamic, Colorado needed a goalie who could make saves, and Annunen was good at that. The 24-year-old made 25 stops to secure the win. It was a nice change from all the drama and commentary surrounding the Avalanche's poor goaltending and Alexandar Georgiev in particular. And it's also nice to see head coach Jared Bednar finally calling on his replacement.

I still believe that Annunen's poor relief performance against Columbus is the main reason he hasn't been in the starting lineup so far. I also think, like late last year, the Avs are doing an excellent job of protecting their backup. The Sharks are in last place in the NHL and are one of two teams still without a win. He didn't necessarily have to face the Vegas Golden Knights or the Boston Bruins. But given the penalty trouble the Avs ran into in the second period, he still deserves credit for blocking things out.

The Avs finally scored the first goal at the start of the first period and didn't allow it again as the game progressed. Annunen deserves his flowers for his contribution to this.

Bad: Will Smith

With Macklin Celebrini still out with injury, I was really excited to see Will Smith in action. But he was completely invisible.

It's a nice reminder that not every talented young player enters the league and immediately finds success. I'll never forget Connor Bedard coming to Denver for the Avs' home game last year. Colorado won 4-0 and Bedard barely touched the puck all night. And this is a kid who will be a star in this league for a long, long time.

I feel for the sharks. It's not an easy rebuild. But with the veterans they've added in the last few years, I thought it would help the young guys get going a little quicker. Five games and zero points for Smith so far. Against the Avs, he had one shot and was a -1 in 14:43 of ice time. Welcome to the NHL, boy. Playing against Makar must be a nightmare.