Avalanche 3, Sharks 2: Semyon Varlamov made a season-high 47 saves and John Mitchell collected a power-play goal and an assist in his return from a back injury as host Colorado clinched its first postseason berth since 2010.

Cody McLeod netted a short-handed goal and Paul Stastny also scored for the Avalanche, who have won three in a row and moved past idle Chicago into second place in the Central Division.

Joe Pavelski scored his team-leading 38th goal and defenseman Dan Boyle also tallied for San Jose, which dropped one point behind Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division as it fell for the fifth time in seven games (2-3-2).

After McLeod beat Alex Stalock (19 saves) on a breakaway midway through the first period, Mitchell converted former Shark Jamie McGinn's missed shot off the end boards at 6:32 of the second to give Colorado a 3-1 lead. Mitchell had been sidelined four games after a frightening collision into the end boards in Montreal on March 18.

Boyle's one-timer from the right faceoff circle banked off Varlamov and into the net two minutes later to trim the deficit. The Russian netminder rebounded, however, and stopped all 20 shots he faced in the third period to register his NHL-leading 37th victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Colorado C Matt Duchene injured his left knee on his first shift and did not return to the contest. Duchene collided with McGinn and limped off the ice. ... San Jose C Joe Thornton notched an assist to extend his point streak versus the Avalanche to 13 games. The captain has recorded two goals and 16 assists in that stretch. ... Stastny banked a sharp-angle shot from below the left circle off Stalock and inside the near post to open the scoring 93 seconds into the contest. Pavelski evened the contest 94 seconds later by backhanding the puck past Varlamov from in front for the Sharks' sixth power-play goal in their last eight opportunities.