While fans are disappointed consecutive regulation losses opened the door for the Ducks to re-take first place in the Pacific Division, the big picture is how fortunate the Sharks are to get through a very busy recent schedule with minimal collateral damage.

San Jose capped a run of on Saturday of playing 15 games in 28 days in the month of March. Any way you slice it the schedule was grueling — four games in six nights, five in eight, six in 10, 10 in 17 — and it was almost comical the final contest had to be an early start in the mile-high air of Denver. Through it all, the Sharks went 9-3-3 in March.

And it’s not like the Sharks mailed this one in. San Jose directed 49 shots on net, another 25 attempts were blocked and 13 missed the 4-by-6 goal mouth for a total of 87 attempts to score. Outshot 20-8 in the final period, the Avalanche surrendered a season high in opponent shots.

What is important as March turns to April is getting everyone as healthy as possible, and to avoid future injury in the final six games over two weeks before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s not an easy thing to do. There are key players dropping all over the league.

Coincidentally the Avalanche is holding its breath waiting to hear the extent of Matt Duchene’s knee injury after he collided with a teammate early in Saturday’s game. Colorado has had a magical season — who could have predicted they’d not only make the playoffs but finish ahead of the Cup champion Blackhawks? — but really how much would they have to overcome to beat Chicago in the first round without a 100-percent Duchene?

The Penguins recently lost Evgeni Malkin and ex-Shark Marcel Goc, a nice deadline-day acquisition. And even Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf limped off late Saturday in the final five minutes during a blowout of Vancouver after having taken a puck off an ankle.

The Sharks had a couple close calls on Saturday. James Sheppard, who has played his best hockey in two years starting two games before the Olympic break, slid awkwardly into the boards and appeared to injure the same left knee that ended his stay in Minnesota after an ATV accident four years ago.

Sheppard has scored three goals and added 11 assists for 14 points in 18 appearances since Feb. 5. The significance here is the fact he had only two goals and nine points in his previous 74 games as a Shark.

Logan Couture went down several times, including once during a knee-on-knee hit against the Avs. He’s already narrowly avoided injury in blocking a recent shot that required nearly 20 stitches to close an awful-looking gash on the side of an ankle.

Raffi Torres is back on injured reserve and may not play again until the playoffs. He appeared in five of six games from Feb. 27-March 8 after returning from ACL surgery only 5 1/2 months earlier. Adam Burish is out until at least the first round after blocking a shot with his hand that required a medical procedure to repair two dislocated fingers.

Sure, the Sharks would love to finish first in the division, but staying out of the trainer’s room is more important at this time of the season.