The Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Final.
– Pavel Francouz took J.T. Compher off the hook for a penalty with a key save on Connor McDavid. A few seconds later, Compher took the life out of Rogers Place — and put the Colorado Avalanche on the cusp of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Francouz made 27 saves. McLeod tied it at 2 at 7:34 of the third, going the length of the ice and beating Francouz with a snap shot from the high slot.“Our goal is the same as it was today, which is we’ve got to win one hockey game,” Edmonton interim coach Jay Woodcroft said.
“Val is a huge part of our team and our offensive game and our checking game and helps out in all areas of the game,” Landeskog said. “Tonight, obviously, he was a force and comes up with two big goals for us, and I thought did a great job on the forecheck and neutral zone, staying above their top players and not giving them much room. It’s a tough task, but he’s been huge for us and he just continues to get better and better and a big, important piece for us.