It didn't look great early, but the Colorado Avalanche came from behind to beat the young San Jose Sharks by a score of 4-2.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday's matchup.

Both sides benefiting from big trade

Sure, it hasn't even been two weeks since the Avalanche and Sharks got together and made a huge trade, but early returns are good for both sides.

Since arriving in Colorado, Mackenzie Blackwood has come exactly as advertised. He was a big reason the Avalanche won against the Nashville Predators and has held up his end of the bargain since then. He's huge and looks very calm in net, something that you couldn't say about Alexandar Georgiev.

For the Sharks, Nikolai Kovalenko has hit the ground running and found immediate chemistry with the number one overall pick, Macklin Celebrini. With the Avalanche getting healthier up front, Kovalenko wasn't going to get those opportunities in Colorado, so in the long-term, this is probably a good move for the 25-year-old.

There's still plenty of time for the pendulum to swing in either direction with this trade, but for now, both sides have to be pretty happy with how things have worked out.

MacKinnon and Rantanen separated

You can tell when things are bad offensively when Avalanche coach Jared Bednar separates his big guns. That's what he did Thursday.

Mikko Rantanen dropped down to the second line to play with Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton, while Valeri Nichushkin moved up to play on the top line. The results weren't great and often Rantanen and MacKinnon would find themselves together for offensive zone face-offs, but the staff could see the previous lines weren't working all that much.

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Power play wakes up

Well, sort of.

Colorado's second and third power plays were pretty horrible, but they scored on their first attempt with the man advantage and then again on their fourth. Maybe they just needed to face Alexandar Georgiev to get some momentum, although I'm not sure any goaltender on the planet is stopping the shot Mikko Rantanen rifled into the net in the third period.

Avalanche 4, Sharks 2

What happened: Colorado staged a third period comeback led by Joel Kiviranta's two-goal performance.

What went right: Maybe that bug that was making it's way through the Avalanche locker room has finally passed, because they found an extra gear in the third period. Sure, they took advantage of a young Sharks team that has struggled to close out games this season, but you have to earn everything in this league, and the Avalanche killed some penalties in the third to stay in the game.

What went wrong: He might be leading the NHL in points, but Nathan MacKinnon isn't always on top of his game. In the second period he had not one, but two ugly giveaways that led to Sharks goals at the other end. The first one was just a blind pass to the middle of the ice, while the second one he was just too soft on the puck.

Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood gave his old team fits, stopping 32 of 34 shots, including some highlight-reel saves on Will Smith.

What's next: Colorado will take a quick flight to Anaheim to take on the Ducks on Friday night at 8 p.m.