San Jose, CA -- (Sports Network) - Ryane Clowe potted his first goal of the season and collected an assist on Dany Heatley's game-winning tally in the third period, as the San Jose Sharks cooled off the surging Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, at HP Pavilion.

Jamie McGinn also lit the lamp, while Patrick Marleau picked up two helpers for the Sharks, who have won four games in a row. Evgeni Nabokov earned the victory with a 24-save performance.

Highly touted rookie Matt Duchene scored a short-handed goal for the Avalanche, who lost for just the second time in regulation. Craig Anderson, who has started all 14 games this season, finished with 43 saves in defeat.

"(Anderson) gave us a chance to win in a game where, quite frankly, we probably shouldn't have been in it," said Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco.

Clowe broke the scoreless tie with 5.9 seconds remaining in the middle stanza, backhanding the rebound of a Marleau shot. Clowe scored a career-high 22 goals last season.

San Jose grabbed a 2-0 lead when rookie defenseman Jason Demers sent a pass from the right point to Heatley at the side of the goal for an easy tap-in at 3:59 of the third.

Duchene buried his own rebound while the Avalanche were down a man at 9:34, but McGinn countered 30 seconds later, firing a sizzling wrister from the left circle that eluded Anderson.

"It was a very accurate shot," San Jose head coach Todd McLellan said about McGinn's goal. "You have to be that good right now to beat (Anderson). I thought that was a very important goal for us after we gave up the shorty."

Game Notes

Peter Budaj served as the backup to Anderson. Budaj had missed the last four games with the H1N1 virus. In a related move, Colorado reassigned goaltender Tyler Weiman to Lake Erie of the American Hockey League...Rookie forward Matt Hendricks, who missed the previous two Avalanche games due to a groin injury, was placed on injured reserve Friday. Colorado also activated defenseman John- Michael Liles from IR. He was sidelined for seven games with a shoulder problem...Marleau has five goals and eight assists during a seven-game point streak...Both Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Vesce missed a third straight game for the Sharks because of leg injuries...Colorado wraps up its four-game trek Sunday at Vancouver...San Jose opens a three-game road trip Sunday against the Hurricanes.