Per the report, Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime after Nathan MacKinnon tied it late in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche advanced to the Western Conference final with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
The win completed a comeback for Colorado, which trailed 3-0 midway through the second period, per the report. Marcus Johansson opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game and Nick Foligno added two goals to put Minnesota up 3-0 after the first period. Colorado replaced starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood after the first and inserted Scott Wedgewood, who made seven saves, the report says.
With Minnesota leading 3-1 late, Jack Drury scored with 3:33 remaining to make it 3-2, and MacKinnon tied the game with 1:23 left on an empty-net shot from the left side that beat Jesper Wallstedt in the top left corner, per the report. In overtime, Martin Necas worked the puck behind the net and out front to an open Kulak, who finished without missing a stride, the report says.
Per the report, Colorado moves on to the conference final for an eighth time since relocating to Denver in 1995-96 and will face the winner of the series between Vegas and Anaheim, with the Golden Knights leading that matchup 3-2. The win was a rare series-ending victory on home ice for the Avalanche; the report notes the last time the franchise won a series at home was in 2008 against the Wild, when the roster featured Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg.
The Avalanche overcame a three-goal deficit to win a playoff game for just the third time in 53 tries since moving to Denver, per the report. Wallstedt stopped 30 shots for Minnesota, which had been 21-0 when leading a playoff game by at least three goals before this elimination loss. The report adds that Matt Boldy and Nico Sturm each had two assists for a banged-up Wild team that was missing center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin all series.
