Colorado beats Minnesota in OT Game 5

Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime on Wednesday, May 13, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in Denver to close out their second-round series in five games. Nathan MacKinnon forced overtime with 1:23 left in regulation after Colorado pulled goaltender Scott Wedgewood for an extra attacker, according to NHL.com. The win sent Colorado to the Western Conference final, while Minnesota’s season ended after it led 3-0 in the first period. ### How did Colorado get from 3-0 down to a series-clinching win? Minnesota built its lead early at Ball Arena. Marcus Johansson scored 34 seconds into the game, and Nick Foligno added two first-period goals to put the Wild ahead 3-0, the Associated Press reported. Colorado changed goaltenders after the first intermission. (nhl.com) Mackenzie Blackwood was replaced by Wedgewood, who stopped seven shots, and the Avalanche began to cut into the deficit. Jack Drury scored with 3:33 remaining in regulation to make it 3-2, setting up MacKinnon’s tying goal with the net empty, according to the AP and NHL.com. (denver7.com) ### What did MacKinnon do on the tying goal? Nathan MacKinnon tied the game at 18:37 of the third period with a wrist shot from under the left dot that beat Jesper Wallstedt short side over the goaltender’s shoulder, NHL.com said. The goal came with Wedgewood on the bench for the extra skater and erased what had been a two-goal Minnesota cushion late in the period. (denver7.com) Jesper Wallstedt said afterward the play would stay with him. “That one definitely hurts a lot to me,” Wallstedt told NHL.com, adding that he felt he was in position but that MacKinnon “picked his corner.” Minnesota coach John Hynes called it “a heck of a shot by an unbelievable player,” according to NHL.com. ### Why was Kulak the unexpected finisher in overtime? (nhl.com) Brett Kulak converted Martin Necas’ pass from the right dot at 3:52 of overtime to complete Colorado’s four-goal rally, NHL.com said. The AP described Kulak as an unlikely overtime hero, noting it was his first goal since Jan. 19 and only his second of the season across stops in Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Colorado. (nhl.com) Kulak said the moment was unusual for a player in his role. “The player I am, I'm not the guy everyone's looking down the bench like, ‘Alright, get out there and go win it for us,’” he told NHL.com. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said Kulak “makes so many plays” and had been “in the right spot at the right time.” ### How unusual was this comeback for both teams? (nhl.com) Colorado had overcome a three-goal deficit to win a playoff game only three times in 53 tries since the franchise moved to Denver, the AP said. The victory also gave the Avalanche a home-ice series-clinching win that the AP said was their first since 2008, when they also beat Minnesota. (nhl.com) Minnesota entered the night with a 21-0 record in playoff games when leading by at least three goals, the AP reported. The Wild still got two goals from Foligno and 30 saves from Wallstedt, but they could not close out a game that was 3-1 with less than four minutes left. ### Who is next for Colorado? Colorado advanced to the Western Conference final and will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or Anaheim Ducks, according to NHL.com’s game recap and playoff bracket. (denver7.com) The bracket listed Vegas ahead 3-2 in that series as of May 14. Kulak said after the game that Colorado would now begin watching that series more closely. “Now we can get some rest and turn our attention,” he told NHL.com. (denver7.com) The Hurricanes were the only other team already through to a conference final, NHL.com said. (nhl.com)