(Edmonton) Fresh out of jail, JT Compher broke the deadlock midway through the third period and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in the final from West.
Posted yesterday at 11:26 p.m.
Guilty of tripping Leon Draisaitl, Compher served the penalty and 10 seconds later his shot slipped through Mike Smith’s pads.
Compher was able to release by winning a brief battle near the boards against Evan Bouchard, who had just touched the post.
Valeri Nichushkin beat Smith twice, while Mikko Rantanen completed in an empty net.
Devon Toews had two assists.
Connor McDavid and Ryan McLeod scored for the Oilers.
Smith made 39 saves, 12 more than Pavel Francouz.
Francouz entered the series in Game 1 after Darcy Kuemper suffered an upper body injury. On his first start, he had a shutout. In the third game, he made an important save on McDavid before Compher had scored.
“Frankie is fast. He moved quickly and made a great save, Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. It takes strength to come back after the Oilers tied the game — especially the way they tied the game. »
The Oilers will face a sweep Monday, in front of their fans.
“Our goal is the same as we had today: it’s to win a hockey game,” Oilers interim head coach Jay Woodcroft said.
The Avalanche won a second Stanley Cup title in 2001, but haven’t reached the final round since.
“It’s obviously a very important win, but the job is not done,” said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog.
McDavid scored in the first minute of the game. Seizing a short pass from Zach Hyman, he raced into the danger zone and hit the target with a low shot.
PHOTO WALTER TYCHNOWICZ, USA TODAY SPORTS
Connor McDavid scored on his first appearance on the ice.
McDavid leads with 30 playoff points in 15 games.
Just 28 seconds after the Oilers captain’s net, Evander Kane gave Nazem Kadri a hard hit that earned him a game misconduct. Kadri was injured on the streak and did not return to the game.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has confirmed Kadri will miss the rest of the Western Conference Finals, if not more.
“He’s hurt,” Bednar said. The failure? This is the most dangerous type of tackle in hockey. »
Nichushkin leveled before the first intermission when his shot deflected off Oilers Darnell Nurse’s stick.
PHOTO WALTER TYCHNOWICZ, USA TODAY SPORTS
Goaltender Mike Smith watches the puck enter his net on goal Valeri Nichushkin.
The 27-year-old Russian scored a brace early in the second period, via a shot from the far side (and between Bouchard’s legs). The puck deflected towards him after a point shot hit a McDavid skate.
McLeod tied the score 2-2 at 7:34 in the third period, using a wrist shot.
Derek Ryan had done well by stretching his left leg to avoid an offside when McLeod entered the zone.
Only four times have we seen an NHL club recover from a 3-0 deficit and advance to the playoffs.
It most recently happened in 2014 when the Kings pulled it off at the expense of the Sharks in the first round.