Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 36: Colorado Avalanche advance to Stanley Cup Final with sweep of Edmonton Oilers

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 36: Colorado Avalanche advance to Stanley Cup Final with sweep of Edmonton Oilers
Credit: © Perry Nelson

The Colorado Avalanche are on their way to the Stanley Cup Final thanks to a hectic 6-5 overtime win to complete the sweep of the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite the 3-0 series lead for the Colorado Avalanche, this series has definitely been entertaining, and the drama seemed to be heightened in Game 4. Evander Kane found himself out of the lineup due to a suspension, and as a result, 2020 1st round pick Dylan Holloway made his NHL debut in a big game for the Oilers. The Avs were without Nazem Kadri (who was injured because he was on the other end of Kane’s suspension), and the pressure was on them to close out the series, while the Oilers had nothing to lose at this point.

The Avalanche may be the ones feeling the pressure, but they didn’t show it early on. They managed to draw a penalty with Zack Kassian slashing Jack Johnson, and after a failed clearing attempt by Zach Hyman on the penalty kill, Arrturi Lehkonen fed Cale Makar at the point, who sniped it past Mike Smith to give the Avs an early 1-0 lead.

The Oilers got a couple power plays later in the period, but couldn’t generate anything of substance, never mind a goal.

The second period didn’t start out any better for the Oilers either, as Jesse Puljujarvi added to the piling list of injuries that the team is dealing with, leaving to the dressing room after taking an awkward fall trying to hit Bowen Byram. He missed all of the second, but returned for the third period.

But fortunes changed for the Oilers as the period went along. It started out with a great breakout pass from Darnell Nurse to Leon Draisaitl, who then sprung Hyman on a partial break, and he went backhand and in to put Edmonton on the board.

Then it was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins turn. Logan O’Connor and Devon Toews had a communication mishap that gave Nugent-Hopkins a breakaway, and he also went to the backhand to score and give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

That continued late into the period, as the Oilers power play finally got something done as Connor McDavid ripped one past Pavel Francouz and gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead.

If the Avs wanted to get back into the game, they needed that next goal. It took all of 31 seconds of the third period for that to happen again, as some good board play from Makar gave Gabriel Landeskog the puck, who set up a wide open Devon Toews, and he also had a blueline snipe to draw the Avs within one.

The Oilers killed that momentum pretty quickly though, as just over three minutes later, the Oilers were aggressive off the rush, Draisaitl picked up a McDavid drop pass, and set up Hyman across the zone with a one timer goal for Hyman’s second of the game, and it was a two goal lead for the Oilers again.

However, the Avs weren’t out of it just yet. Byram threw the puck on net from the point, creating chaos in front of the net, and Landeskog knocked home the puck to put Colorado back within one.

The Oilers got another chance to extend the lead again after MacKinnon tripped Hyman, and they came oh-so close with Draisaitl missing a wide open net, something that may haunt his dreams for a while.

It didn’t help that the Avs made them pay almost immediately, as they made a few excellent breakout passes, and once it was on the stick of MacKinnon, he went flying, and tied the game at 4-4.

Just over 30 seconds later, Derek Ryan held down Mikko Rantanen and put the Avs back on the power play with momentum on their side. And of course, it was Rantanen that scored the go-ahead goal for Colorado on the power play with a snipe of his own.

With not much time left on the clock, the Oilers need a hero to keep their season alive just a little bit longer. That hero was Kassian, whose penalty gave the Avs their first goal of the game, as he cleaned up the garbage of a Draisaitl one-timer, and the game was tied again, this time requiring overtime.

The overtime didn’t last long though. In 2021, Lehkonen needed all of 1:39 into overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights to send the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final. This year, he only needed 1:19, as he deflected a point shot from Makar, and knocked home the rebound to win the game for the Avs. The goal needed to be looked at, but it stood, and the Avalanche are on their way to the Final.

It was a chaotic game, but it was one that saw the stars shine. Makar paved the way for the Avs with a five point night, while Landeskog and Lehkonen had three points, and MacKinnon and Rantanen had a goal each. The Oilers didn’t get the result they wanted, but their dynamic duo left it all on the ice, with Draisaitl putting up four assists, and McDavid having a three point night.

The Avs head to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001, when they beat the New Jersey Devils to win their second Stanley Cup. They will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the New York Rangers, depending on who wins the Eastern Conference Final. The Rangers currently lead the series 2-1.

For the Oilers, they head into the offseason with just over $26 million in cap space, but they’ll have many holes to fill. They have Kane, Kris Russell, Brett Kulak, and Mikko Koskinen all facing unrestricted free agency, while Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, and Ryan McLeod are all restricted free agents.

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