I really thought the eighth-seeded Avalanche could win their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series with top-seeded Calgary before it began, but I definitely had my doubts after they lost 4-0 in the opener.
It looked even bleaker when they trailed 2-1 in the final minutes of Game 2. Lose that one and, well, having to win four of five games against a Flames team that won 50 times in the regular season would have been quite the task.
Enter J.T. Compher near the end of regulation and Nathan MacKinnon in overtime … the rest is history.
Showing the resiliency they did in the final weeks of the regular season just to get into the playoffs, the Avalanche rattled off four consecutive wins to advance to the second round for the first time since they eliminated Minnesota in six games in 2008.
Just as everyone expected.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/nfuVuSmJGi
— x- Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 20, 2019
With the Columbus Blue Jackets' four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference, it’s the first time in NHL history that the eight seeds in each conference took down the top seed in the opening round.
The Avalanche will play either Vegas or San Jose in the second round; the Golden Knights have a 3-2 series lead and host Game 6 on Sunday.
“The resiliency we have on our team, the fight that we have when we're down, huge," said goalie Philipp Grubauer, who went 4-1 in the series with a 1.90 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. “Guys stepping up in the right moment, scoring goals, getting blocks, getting saves at the right time. It all combines into a great performance.…
The Avalanche’s top players dominated Calgary’s best as Mikko Rantanen, MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog combined for nine goals and 12 assists.
The Flames’ top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm combined for two goals and three assists.
Colorado also got plenty of secondary support: Tyson Barrie had five assists; Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson each had two goals and two assists; Compher had two goals, one assist; Ian Cole had three assists. Five others had one or two points.
Like every great series, it ends with #Handshakes. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/742Jde3Cq5
— NHL (@NHL) April 20, 2019
Rantanen came up huge with five goals and four assists in the final four games after getting blanked in the opener, his first game after he missed the last eight regular-season games with an upper-body injury.
Then there was MacKinnon, who had three goals and five assists; the Flames simply couldn’t keep up with his speed.
MacKinnon has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 18 career playoff games for the highest points-per-game average (1.33) among active players and the fifth-highest in playoff history among those with at least 10 points.
“He totally took over and you have to give him a lot of credit,… said Flames captain Mark Giordano, who likely will win the Norris Trophy. “He’s a tough player to play against. Connor (McDavid), Sid (Crosby), he’s right up there with those two.…
Let’s give some credit to coach Jared Bednar, who kept things together in December and January when the Avalanche were on the verge of falling off the proverbial cliff.
“We're all happy, don't get me wrong, we're happy, but it's one round and you have to win four," Bednar said. "That is our mindset. We're not getting satisfied. That is our team's mindset this year. We're going to push and do everything we can to win."