Home is where the wins where in this series (for the most part). Colorado and Minnesota would get a goal each in the first period of Game 1. Then the Wild took over, scoring 3 times to the Avalanches 1 in the second. Colorado would pull within 1 partway through the third, then Paul Stastny played hero. Stastny scored the tying goal with 14 seconds left in regulation, then scored the winner in overtime. Game 2 had a similar start, as both teams would swap goals in the first (this time Minnesota scored first). Gabriel Landeskog would score twice in the second to give the Avalanche the lead. The Wild would score late in the third, but the Avalanche would get it back, taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 3 was a goalie duel, as Darcy Kuemper and Semyon Varlamov stopped everything they faced in regulation. Mikael Granlund would end the game. Game 3 wasn't without incident though, as Matt Cooke kneeing Tyson Barrie would earn Cooke a suspension (more on that below). The scoring came earlier in Game 4, with Jared Spurgeon giving the Wild the lead just under 4 minutes into the game. Minnesota would score again in the second, with Colorado responding with a goal of their own 30 seconds later. That was it for goals though, as the 2-1 win would the series up. The goals would eventually come back in Game 5, as Colorado scored twice to Minnesota's lone goal. The Wild would come back in the third, scoring 2 unanswered. Once again, Colorado would find a way to score late to tie the game and force overtime. Nathan MacKinnon would score early in overtime to give Colorado the series lead again. Minnesota started Game 6 off quickly, as Zach Parise gave them the lead 49 seconds into the game. Granlund would get another one for the Wild before Stastny put the Avalanche on the board. Nick Holden would score in the second to tie the game up. Parise would score his second of the game to give the Wild the lead again. Minnesota would score 2 empty net goals to cap off the game and push the series to a seventh game. The Avalanche would strike early in Game 7, as Holden would score about 3 minutes in. Mikko Koivu would score to tie the game, but Jamie McGinn would strike a few minutes later to restore Colorado's lead. Minnesota would tie the game back up in the second, as Dany Heatley (of all people) would put home a loose puck in front of the net. The third period saw both teams trade goals twice, as whenever Colorado scored Minnesota would tie it up. The third period also saw Wild goalie Kuemper pull himself out of the game due to health issues, which left the Wild net in the hands of Ilya Bryzgalov. Nino Niederreiter would be the hero in overtime for the Wild, finishing a 2-on-1 with a high shot that beat Varlamov. The Wild eliminate the Avalanche in 6 games.
Games
Minnesota Wild 4
Colorado Avalanche 5 (OT)
Minnesota Wild 2
Colorado Avalanche 4
Colorado Avalanche 0
Minnesota Wild 1 (OT)
Colorado Avalanche 1
Minnesota Wild 2
Minnesota Wild 3
Colorado Avalanche 4 (OT)
Colorado Avalanche 2
Minnesota Wild 5
Minnesota Wild 5 (OT)
Colorado Avalanche 4
- Nathan MacKinnon, treating the NHL like he did the QMJHL last year.
- Paul Stastny: Goal Scorer, Points Getter, Cup Checker
- Rare footage of Dany Heatley scoring. Not-so-rare footage of Dany Heatley gasping for air.
- Patrick Roy just seems not able to beat the Wild when it's Game 7.
Matt Cooke got 7 games for kneeing Tyson Barrie. I'm not going to hop on Cooke for this like others are. He has proven that he's changed since his last suspension. This was more of a get-a-piece-of-the-guy incident that a lot of players tend to do. Until he gets another suspension, I'll treat this as a hiccup more than the return of old habits.
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| (Image via SomeHockeyVideos) |
Highlight of the Series
The Avs tic-tac-toe goal.
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