The Colorado Avalanche reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their 2001 championship on Monday, shattering their reputation as a highly talented team that disappointed in the playoffs.
They staged a furious comeback in the third period and won in overtime on a goal by trade deadline acquisition Artturi Lehkonen to sweep the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-5 win in Game 4.
The Avalanche will face the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Rangers series. The Rangers lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 2-1 with Game 4 on Tuesday (8 pm ET, ESPN) in Tampa.
Colorado overcame 3-1 and 4-2 deficits with goals from Devon Toews, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to go ahead before Zack Kassian forced overtime. Cale Makar, who scored in the first half, provided four assists.
Although the Avalanche stars dominated in Game 4 regulation, they were moves done on trade deadline that helped make Colorado the Western Conference champions.
General manager Joe Sakic, the 2001 team captain, hired defenseman Josh Manson to add value at the blue line and brought in forwards Lehkonen, Nico Sturm and Andrew Cogliano to help on the penalty kick.
Lehkonen, who was with Montreal before the trade, scored the series-clinching goal in the third round for the Canadiens last season. Cogliano had a key block Monday night, but appeared to hurt his hand on the play.
The newcomers joined stars MacKinnon, Makar, Landeskog and Rantanen to form a powerhouse that needed 14 games to get past the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Oilers.
And depth helped them survive key injuries. Defenseman Sam Girard was hurt in the second round and No. 2 center Nazem Kadri missed Game 4 after being pushed into the boards in Game 3, costing the Oilers forward a one-game suspension.
TSN reported that Kadri had surgery on his thumb and his status for the Cup final is uncertain.
“Naz has been one of our best players all season, key guy,” MacKinnon told TNT. “I hope he’s doing well and we’ll get him back in the next series.”
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Rangers hope two forwards can play in Game 4
The Rangers came out of Sunday’s 3-2 Game 3 loss with center depth ailing, but head coach Gerard Gallant is hopeful that neither Barclay Goodrow nor Ryan Strome will miss a moment.
Strome’s lower-body injury came in his first at-bat of the second period, as Lightning forward Ondrej Palat pushed him slightly from behind and appeared to plant himself awkwardly on his right leg. He came out for an at-bat over 36 seconds, but couldn’t continue beyond that.
“It should be fine,” Gallant said after Monday’s optional practice at Amalie Arena. “We’ll see (Tuesday)… But we hope he plays.”
Goodrow was hurt during the third period when he blocked a shot by Victor Hedman.
Despite the obvious pain, the 29-year-old went to the locker room and was back on the ice for his next turn just 2:23 later.
“It hurt a little bit, but Barclay is a competitor,” Gallant said. “He comes back and plays. That’s what he does.”
Jets Kyle Connor wins the Lady Byng Trophy
Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor won the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the most chivalrous player in the NHL.
The league announced the honor Monday night before Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
Connor tied for the second fewest number of minor penalties during the regular season. He was penalized just twice in more than 1,700 minutes of ice time that included regular short at-bats and matchups against top offensive opponents.
It is the first time she has won the Lady Byng. Last year’s winner, Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin, was second in the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association voting. Minnesota captain Jared Spurgeon was third.
Contributions: Vincent Z. Mercogliano, Northjersey.com; Associated Press
Reference-www.usatoday.com