Avalanche push Oilers to brink of elimination with Game 3 win
The Colorado Avalanche are on the verge of reaching the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday night to grab a 3-0 series lead.
Colorado is seeking its first Stanley Cup Final berth since it won the trophy in 2001.
Saturday's contest started with a bang, as Oilers captain Connor McDavid opened the scoring 38 seconds in. Less than a minute later, Evander Kane was assessed a five-minute major for a hit from behind that knocked Nazem Kadri out of the game. Kadri will miss the rest of the series.
Valeri Nichushkin scored a pair of goals to put the Avalanche ahead before Ryan McLeod temporarily tied it up near the midway point of the third period. Forward J.T. Compher put Colorado up for good with seven minutes to go, and Mikko Rantanen deposited an empty-netter in the dying seconds.
"Obviously not a great situation to be in, down three. Series isn't over, obviously. Gotta go one at a time here," McDavid said after the game.
"It’s not an ideal spot, but we’re not quitting on each other yet," added defenseman Cody Ceci.
The Avalanche outshot the Oilers 43-29 in Game 3 but did much of their damage on the power play. At five-on-five, Edmonton had 75.68% of scoring chances and 60.62% of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Colorado is a perfect 6-0 on the road in the playoffs, and superstar center Nathan MacKinnon believes his team has the perfect recipe for success away from home.
"You don't gotta please anybody. We're here to make it boring and gross," he said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.
Game 4 is slated for Monday night in Edmonton.