In hockey, a centimeter can sometimes make the difference and the Oilers saw it at the very wrong time, Saturday in Edmonton. Evan Bouchard hit the post head-on in the third period, then JT Compher scored the game-winning goal seconds later in a 4-2 win for the Colorado Avalanche.
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With a score of 2 to 2, Bouchard might have played the heroes and put the Alberta team in a good position for game number 4. However, it was rather Compher, who came out of the penalty box, who made the difference. He scored his fifth of the playoffs less than eight minutes from the final whistle.
Jared Bednar’s squad took a 3-0 lead in the Western final. The Oilers, the last Canadian team still in contention, will now face elimination on Monday night.
Kadri injured?
Led 2-0 in the series at the time of the initial puck drop, the Oilers went into this game with a bang. Connor McDavid set the tone by hitting the target just 38 seconds into the game. It was his ninth goal of the playoffs.
Less than 30 seconds later, Evander Kane was given a five-minute penalty for giving tape to Nazem Kadri, but the Oilers neutralized the Avalanche’s power play.
Kadri was also injured on the sequence and he did not return to the game followingwards. Prior to that game, he was 13th in playoff scoring with six goals and 14 points in 12 games.
Valeri Nichushkin, however, turned things around by hitting the target twice, but Ryan McLeod then tied the game in the third period. Former Montreal Canadiens Brett Kulak picked up an assist on that last goal.
Mikko Rantanen put the finishing touches in an empty cage in the last minute of play.
No Kuemper, no problem
Without Darcy Kuemper, injured in the upper body during the first game of this series, Pavel Francouz began a second consecutive game. He had won all four of his games, including two starts, since the start of the playoffs.
The 32-year-old Czech extended his winning streak to five, turning aside 27 pucks for the Denver team. At the other end of the ice, Mike Smith certainly had his best game of the series, giving up three times on 42 shots.
First period
1-EDM: Connor McDavid (9) (Hyman, Nurse) 0:38
2-COL: Valeri Nichushkin (4) (Byram, Toews) 16:12
Penalties: Kane (Edm) (shift) 1:06, Nurse (Edm) 9:36, MacKinnon (Col) 17:33
Second period
3-COL: Valeri Nichushkin (5) (Toews, MacKinnon) 4:37
Penalties: Nugent-Hopkins (Edm) 14:23
Third period
4-EDM: Ryan McLeod (3) (Kulak, Ryan) 7:34
5-COL: JT Compher (5) (Cogliano) 12:42
6-COL: Mikko Rantanen (4) (sans aide) 19:30
Punitions: Draisaitl (Edm) 4:05, Compher (Col) 10:32, Malone (Edm) 19:33, Malone (Edm) (inc) 19:33
Shoot to the net
COLORADO12 – 19 – 12 – 43EDMONTON 9 – 13 – 7 – 29
Guardians:
COL: Pavel Francouz (G, 5-0), EDM: Mike Smith (P, 8-5)
Numerical advantages:
COL: 0 and 5, EDM: 0 and 2
Referees:
Wes McCauley, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen:
Kiel Murchison, Jonny Murray
ASSISTANCE:
18 347
