EDMONTON – JT Compher scored with 7:18 left to finish regulation, while the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday and won 3-0 in the NHL Western Conference Finals.
After the Avalanche ended its triple penalty in the middle of the third period, the center-back rejoined the play, fought Oilers defender Evan Bouchard and beat Mike Smith between the posts for his fifth playoff goal.
Valeri Nichushkin, with two, and Mikko Rantanen, with an empty net, scored the other Colorado goals. Devon Toews added two assists.
Pavel Francouz, who started a second straight game after picking up a 4-0 goal in place of injured No. 1 goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper, stopped 27 shots.
Colorado is now a top-flight winner in the franchise’s Stanley Cup final since winning its second title in 2001.
Connor McDavid and Ryan McLeod responded for Edmonton, who will be looking to extend their season Monday in Game 4 at Rogers Arena. Smith made 39 stops.
Only four NHL teams have returned from a 3-0 lead to win a seven-game series. The Los Angeles Kings were the last to achieve the feat in the first round of the 2014 playoffs against the San Jose Sharks.
By 2-1 entering the final period and with his season in play, McLeod scored his third at 7:34 when he received a pass from Brett Kulak, moved to the Colorado area and fired a shot from distance that deceived Francouz.
Edmonton got this power play in the third, with the Colorado goalkeeper redeeming himself with a fantastic chance from McDavid and Bouchard hit the post a few seconds before Compher pushed the visitors forward for the second time with a fantastic individual effort. .
Smith then made a big stop at Nichushkin to keep his team inside, but the Oilers couldn’t find a way before Rantanen froze him with his fourth in the empty net, as Edmonton now face a task. monumental in its first conference final since 2006..
A 1-1 draw after the first, both Francouz and Smith were called upon to make big stops early in the second before the Avalanche took their first lead.
After a win in the offensive zone, Toews’ shot hit Nathan MacKinnon in the front and fell nicely to Nichushkin, who buried his second of the night and fifth in the playoffs at 4:38.
Smith kept the Oilers within one as the period progressed, stopping Rantanen from rushing and Cale Makar out of the slot before denying Nichushkin his first NHL hat-trick with a desperate stop.
In desperate need of a spark, Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft loaded his front line with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane to start the third period.
Edmonton killed a Draisaitl penalty early in the third period while Smith, 40, continued to fight before McLeod tied it.
Woodcroft, who was not in the top six for Kailer Yamamoto after receiving a blow from Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog in the second game, shook his lineup again on Saturday, promoting the blunt end Zack Kassian to the unit. superior along with McDavid and Kane, and going with 11 forwards and seven defenders.
McDavid opened the scoring just 38 seconds after the initial clash after a hard-fought Zach Hyman game in front of the Colorado bench before moving on to Francouz and scoring his ninth playoff goal, and the 30-point lead NHL in 15 games, to send a froth to Rogers Place in a frenzy.
The Edmonton captain tied Rick Middleton (15 games in 1983) in the sixth-lowest game in NHL history to reach the postseason in a postseason, just behind Wayne Gretzky (11 in 1983, 12 in 1985 and 14 in 1988), Mario Lemieux. (13 in 1992) and Mark Messier (14 in 1988).
McDavid also became the sixth player in franchise history to score 30 points in the postseason, and the first in 32 years.
Kane fired a dangerous shot from behind at Nazem Kadri on the next turn, sending downtown Colorado to the tables.
The Oilers striker was rated as more than five minutes old, but avoided misbehavior in the game. Kadri, who made three assists for Colorado in the third game, went straight to the locker room and did not return.
Smith stopped Colorado’s nine shots with the advantage of the consequent man, including the great stops of MacKinnon and Landeskog.
The Edmonton goalkeeper then made a big double-pad stack in front of Landeskog in another penalty shootout, as the Oilers fell short for seven of the first 12 minutes of the game.
The Avalanche did not shoot with the same force during the period, but tied with 3:48 of the end when Nichushkin’s pass in front came out of the post of the Oilers defender, Darnell Nurse, and passed a Smith’s amazing short side.
Edmonton were on the verge of making a comeback at the end of the period, but Francouz got a piece of a tight Kassian effort before pulling a loose disc from his goal line.
Notes: Oilers striker Brad Malone was dressed in a playoff game for the first time since April 28, 2014, when he was with Colorado. … McDavid’s goal was the fastest to start a conference finals / semifinals in franchise history.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 4, 2022.
___
Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter.