Avalanche Cap Comeback With Lehkonen’s OT Winner to Beat Oilers (6-5, OT) & Advance to Stanley Cup Finals
Sweep, complete! The Colorado Avalanche are heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2001. The Avs swept the Oilers with a Game 4 comeback for the ages in Edmonton. The Oilers led 4-2 with just over 16 minutes to play, but three goals in less than six minutes swung the scoreboard to a 5-4 Avalanche lead. Zack Kassian answered back for Edmonton with a few minutes left to force overtime.
Lehkonen’s OT Winner: Just over a minute into the extra frame, a faceoff in front of the Edmonton goal bounced back to Cale Makar. Makar fired a shot from the blue line that was sticked by Artturi Lehkonen off the pad of goaltender Mike Smith. The rebound fell to the left side of the net while Smith was off balance. Lehkonen fired home the series-clinching goal and sent the Avalanche to the Cup Finals.
Avs Road Through the West: Colorado finished off the Western Conference Finals with a 4-0 sweep to bring their postseason record to 12-2. That’s two sweeps against the Predators and Oilers with a 4-2 series against the Blues.
Watch: Avalanche Sweep Oilers on Lehkonen’s OT Winner
The Avs are Stanley Cup Finals bound, but the East is still up for grabs. They’ll await the winner of the Rangers-Lightning series before the Finals begin next week.
Tonight’s Schedule
Gm 4: Rangers at Lightning (8:00 pm ET)
NYR Lead Series (2-1)
Additional Storylines
ESPN: Why the Stanley Cup Final-Bound Avalanche Must Be Seen to be Believed
USA Today: Bruins Fire Head Coach Bruce Cassidy After 1st-Round Exit
