[ad_1]
Avalanche players overtake center-back Mikko Rantanen after scoring the overtime winner against the Flames on Wednesday night at the Denver Pepsi Center. (Andy Cross / The Denver Post)
DENVER – Mikko Rantanen scored on a shot at 10:23 in overtime after he tied the game with a late goal in the rules and the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the best of the seven playoffs.
Moments after scoring a penalty, Carl Soderberg got the puck and sent a pass to Rantanen, who dubbed a shot past Mike Smith before being assaulted by his teammates.
Colorado led 2-0 in the third period, with J. T. Compher starting the rebound on a rebound and Rantanen tied it on a power play goal with a time remaining at 2:50.
Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan had goals for the Flames, the seeded in the West. They face a win-win scenario when the series returns to Calgary for the fifth game on Friday. The Flames are trying to avoid a spell similar to that of Tampa Bay, with the No. 1 seed in the East losing to Columbus in the first round.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 35 shots, including one in SU with his left cushion while he was lying on the ice.
Smith had another busy night stopping 49 of 52 shots. He faced 56 in a 6-2 loss in Game 3.
Smith, 37, appeared to take a patina in his leg when Avalanche forward Colin Wilson slipped into the first period. Smith was briefly checked before settling into a groove.
Grubauer made the biggest rescue of the night early in overtime while he was on the ice and Mikael Backlund with the puck on his stick. Grubauer waited a moment and then slightly raised his left cushion as Backlund pulled him. The puck hit the middle of the Grubauer pad.
Compher escaped into overtime and Smith bet by coming out of the net to challenge him. Compher bypassed Smith, only to send the puck off. Later, Colorado resisted a penalty from Ian Cole after putting the puck offside.
Calgary was apparently in control after Ryan extended his lead to 2-0 with 13:02 to go after a rebound. A little over a minute later, Compher shot over Smith after a scrum in front of the net. Then Rantanen gave a hand to bind him. The Avalanche had a chance to win in the settlement when the Flames were penalized for late play, but they could not benefit from it.
Lindholm scored his first goal of the series at 3:25 of the second period. His goal came just six seconds after Erik Johnson took a penalty for shooting high. The Flames have at least one power play goal in all four competitions.
Shortly after Lindholm's goal, Smith made a dive stop with his left arm on a shot from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. And shortly after, Landeskog fired a shot from the post.
Smith resisted a series of shots in the first period – plus an accident with Wilson, who was eliminated and slipped to first place in Smith. Both of them were on the ice as the coaches came to check Smith's condition.
This certainly attracted Colorado's attention: Columbus thwarted Tampa Bay's seed in the first round of the Eastern Conference. Avs hope to do the same against the Flames.
"It does not happen often," Rantanen. "In the NHL, it can happen, the differences are not huge."
notable
Flames D Juuso Valimaki played his first game of the series. … Av F Derick Brassard (disease) and D Samuel Girard (upper body) were scratched. … Rookie defenseman Avalanche, Cale Makar, has become a big fan of the Flames. But now that he's playing against them, he's getting a lot of ribs. "Everyone has been so supportive," he said.
following
Return to Calgary for the fifth game on Friday.
[ad_2]
Source link