Avalanche

The Oilers and Avalanche face off in the Western Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We break down when the series starts and how to watch.

Thursday, June 2: Oilers at Avalanche 8 p.m. ET, TNT The Oilers were able to ease past the No. 1 seeded Calgary Flames in five games. The Blues gave the Avs a fight after being swept by them a year ago.

Darren Helm scored a late goal in the third period of Game 6 of the second-round series against the St. Louis Blues to clinch the Avs' first conference ...

The Avalanche had been eliminated in the second round each of the past three years. We didn't play the way we needed to here, which made it difficult to win. I just wanted to get the puck on the net, and it found its way." "There's no other guy that deserves it as much as he does," Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog added. "I was just kind of trailing. "We had three guys going hard to the net," Helm said of the game-winner.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado coach Jared Bednar had been looking for a little extra aggressiveness from veteran center Darren Helm.

Faulk scored late in the first period on a wrist shot from between the circles. Compher then tied it 2-2 on a wrist shot from the faceoff dot with 9:41 left in the third. He pounced on the rebound of a shot from Josh Manson to tie the score 1-1 early in the second period. “You could tell the belief was there.” Wayne Gretzky attended the contest. That's the way it goes. St. Louis coach Craig Berube added: “It's tough, a tough way to end it. Kuemper, who missed part of the first round series against Nashville with an eye injury, improved to 6-2. “A super-clutch goal,” Kuemper said. J.T. Compher scored twice for Colorado, which advanced to the Western Conference finals for first time since 2002. “There's no other guy that deserves it as much as he does,” Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog said. The pass bounced off the side wall.

The Western Conference finals of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs is going to be one hell of a series, mainly because fans are going to see Nathan MacKinnon ...

The Avalanche will be dealing with those two in the conference finals, not to mention the rejuvenated Evander Kane, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Moreover, McDavid and Draisaitl both scored over 100 points back in the regular season. But McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were simply too much to handle for Darryl Sutter’s Flames in the 2022 edition of the Battle of Alberta, which is also seemingly the same two players who will be keeping MacKinnon up at night.

Sean Gentille breaks down the key player, key moment and more from Colorado's series-winning victory against St. Louis.

Blues worry meter: 🎶 … I’m going to miss having the Blues around, and I wish we’d have seen them take their cracks in Game 7. Kyrou is St. Louis’ most dangerous forward — look at what he did to poor Darcy Kuemper in the first place. That was the shot-attempt edge MacKinnon’s line held against Ryan O’Reilly’s. While MacKinnon and O’Reilly were on the ice together at five-on-five, Colorado controlled more than 95 percent of all expected goals. High-danger scoring chances were 6-0 Avs. No, Colorado’s top line didn’t produce a goal, but it basically played keepaway with its counterparts on the Blues. That counts for something. And for as great as Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and the rest of the Avs’ big guns have been (and are, and will be), it was Helm who helped carry them into a new space. As for Husso, the shots that beat him might not have been Grade A chances, but they were good enough. — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)May 28, 2022 It was Compher — another secondary guy on the Avs roster — scoring both of Colorado’s non-Helm goals. J.T. Compher figuring out Blues goalie Ville Husso. Of the first 33 shots Husso faced, he stopped 31. The payoff was as good as it gets, and it makes for narrative gold. Was he watching back in 2009, when Helm ended the Western Conference final before he’d scored a single regular-season goal? — NHL (@NHL)May 28, 2022

Darren Helm had a solid career with the Detroit Red Wings, beginning with making an impact in playoffs, and is doing the same with Colorado Avalanche.

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Ryan O'Reilly speaks his heart out following the St. Louis Blues' loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In lieu of Binnington from Games 4 to 6 was Ville Husso, who gave the Blues a win in Game 5 and looked stout between the pipes in Game 6 until veteran Avs foward Darren Helm sniped one into the back of the net to break a tie with only seconds to go in regulation to end St. Louis’ season. It’s on myself, too, to kind of find a way to rally the group and respond the right way.” Losing Jordan Binnington was truly huge for the Blues, who played the final three games of the series without their no.

The Colorado Avalanche advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years, defeating the Blues in six games.

Author of five novels for young adults, including The Scar Boys, Life in a Fishbowl, and Hard Wired. Lives in Littleton, Colorado with two middle school-age kids, one awesome wife, and three pets. Whether Rantanen is playing through an undisclosed injury, or whether his game has just taken a step sideways, he’ll be one of Bednar’s prime concerns in the next round. With Kuemper down, Kyrou lined up his shot and fired, but not before Manson was able to establish himself in front of the net to make the save. The challenge from here only gets harder, as he faces Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a rejuvenated Evander Kane in the next round. Colorado’s best save of the night was actually made by defenseman Josh Manson, who alertly moved to the goal line after Kuemper had overcommitted on a shot from Jordan Kyrou and found himself sprawled on the ice outside of his crease. Sixteen players have at least one goal in the playoffs for Colorado. Compare that to St. Louis, who had 11 skaters tally a goal, and Colorado’s depth is apparent. He kept his team in the game through all three periods. That’s an average of 1.19 points per game and .36 goals per game. Mikko Rantanen has scored one goal this postseason, an empty net in Game 4 vs. The Avalanche, who outshot the Blues 39-20, didn’t lead in the game until there were six seconds left in the third period, having come from behind twice to tie the contest. The answer, none of them. Colorado won the second-round series four games to two.

The Avalanche were dominant in Game 6, firing 39 shots on Blues goaltender Ville Husso. The Blues, on the other hand, got out to another slow start and never ...

And Kyrou scored on a two-on-one rush with Brayden Schenn when Kuemper was unable to move laterally in time to make the save. But it’s not going to get any easier in the conference final when Colorado faces off against the Edmonton Oilers. I think Kuemper is up to the task. Go ahead and stand in the goal crease at your local arena and you’ll soon realize that it’s a fool’s errand to think goaltenders are capable of purely reacting and making the save from that close. And it’s on the goaltender to make slight lateral adjustments to stay square. Colorado couldn’t afford to sit back and protect the lead like it did in Game 5 – a tactic that eventually blew up in its face when St. Louis mounted a comeback and won in overtime. And that ended up being true throughout the series, especially in Game 6. When Blues defenseman Justin Faulk scored with one minute remaining in the first period, I thought St. Louis had a chance to win. And that was largely the case. Game 6 Between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues was a battle until the very end. I think the first period was about survival for the Blues, and they were successful. Despite Colorado maintaining puck possession for most of the first frame, they weren’t able to generate many chances that – as a goaltender – would have made me nervous. But Avalanche forward Darren Helm scored with just 5.6 seconds remaining in the third period to clinch the second-round Stanley Cup playoff series for Colorado.

The Colorado Avalanche continue to find ways to win and are heading to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. The Avalanche advanced ...

The Avalanche continued to utilize their depth throughout the series and especially in the wake of injuries. They'll have a tough test ahead against the Edmonton Oilers - more on that to come - and are shifting their focus to that series. And while the Avalanche lost Game 5 in overtime to the Blues, MacKinnon was electric with a hat trick and dominant individual efforts. MacKinnon, Compher and Gabriel Landeskog each converted on the power play, while MacKinnon (1G, 1A) and Mikko Rantanen (2A) led the way in power play points. The Avalanche also averaged the second-most shots for per game (but most among teams remaining in playoffs) with a nightly average of 39.8 shots. The Colorado Avalanche continue to find ways to win and are heading to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. Makar blocked a team-high of 12 shots followed by (Erik) Johnson who recorded nine. To kick off the series, Josh Manson buried an overtime goal on May 17 in the Avalanche's eventual 3-2 OT Game 1 win. Two of the six contests required overtime - with Game 6 coming down to the wire until Darren Helm provided the series-clinching tally with just six seconds left in regulation. Helm threw the most hits in the series among skaters with 28, while (Erik) Johnson laid out the second-most with 22. Erik Johnson recorded two points (1G, 1A) and Samuel Girard handed out an assist. That trend only continued in the Avalanche's series-clinching victory.

First and foremost this Western Final sets up as 'The Mc-Mac Series' — Connor McDavid versus Nathan MacKinnon.

What I said was supposed to stay in the room.’” It showed up in the St. Petersburg Times a while back: This time Edmonton was prepared and won 3-2 in Game 1. The series was over in five. MacKinnon scored what fans in Edmonton declared to be “a McDavid goal,” the ultimate compliment around here for hockey fans too young to have seen Wayne Gretzky play — an artistic masterpiece to complete a hat trick and four-point night that should have stood up as the series-winning goal. Colorado has not gone this deep in the playoffs in 20 years — Edmonton not since 2006.

Darren Helm had a solid career with the Red Wings, beginning with making an impact in the playoffs with the Colorado Avalanche.

At his peak, Helm scored in the 12-15 goal range (2013-16), serving as a steadfast grinder and penalty killer. (He did convert, though, back in December, when his breakaway goal was part of a 7-3 barrage against the Wings). Helm stayed in the lineup, excelling in his role centering the fourth line. Helm had two goals and two assists in 18 playoff games. When the playoffs began, he had appeared in just seven games. "We had three guys going hard to the net and I was just kind of trailing," Helm told reporters.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers have made it through two rounds of the NHL playoffs, but they've used two Game 1 mulligans along the way.

Edmonton won 6-3 on April 22, with Evander Kane - who has 12 goals so far in the playoffs - notching a hat trick. "We’re playing a real good Colorado team and it’s going to take our best." That started today with a little bit of practice, and it’s going to carry into our following practices. The top-seeded Avalanche, meanwhile, led by blueliner Cale Makar and star forward Nathan MacKinnon, secured their spot in the third round with a Game 6 win over St. Louis on Friday night. In the first round, the Los Angeles Kings built an early 2-0 lead on Edmonton en route to a 4-3 Game 1 victory. In their second-round series opener against Calgary, the Oilers gave up two goals just 51 seconds into the game.

Yes, what you thought you saw last night really did happen. Darren Helm really did score with 5.6 seconds left in regulation to put the Colorado Avalanche ...

That not only broke an 0-3 streak the previous three years in the second round, it broke an overall streak of 0-6 in the second round, dating back to 2002 (Detroit 2008, Anaheim 2006, San Jose 2004). Yes, what you thought you saw last night really did happen. Twenty years of frustration, gone with one swing of Helm’s stick.

Said Landeskog: "Obviously, our team has changed a lot over the last few years and we've gotten better as a team."

“We want him to be a Calgary Flame,” Treliving said Saturday. “He’s been one his whole career. “I’ve been here for 11 years and haven’t got to that ultimate goal,” Gaudreau said. That’s what you want people to think of you, that they want you on their team. It’s going to be a tough series. So it’s a tough team to play against. “They’re happy to see me here and seeing the team successful. “I congratulated him and he reached out and said go win this game so I can come and see my granddaughter,” Manson said. It took a former Red Wing to help push Colorado into the semifinal. The job is half done,” said J.T. Compher. “There’s plenty more for us to accomplish. I hope the guys take a breath and get even better moving forward.” It’s rewarding to get over this hump but at the same time we’ve got a big goal in mind. “Obviously, our team has changed a lot over the last few years and we’ve gotten better as a team.

Last year, he fired a slapper on Vegas' net as the clock expired in Game 6, as if shooting hard enough could account for the three goals needed to tie the game.

He spent a lot of time watching the Avalanche play in their own offensive zone and faced only 26.2 shots per game in Round 2. He finished the series with an .892 save percentage and will need to play better if Colorado is going to become a championship team, but Game 6 marked a performance off of which he can build. He sure did late in the deciding Game 6 against St. Louis. He was the first player to raise his arms after Darren Helm shot in the winner, quickly joining in a mass of celebrating teammates. I just try to keep my focus of not allowing (the opponent) to get another one.” After a trip to the playoffs in 2013-14, his rookie year, MacKinnon didn’t make it back to the postseason until 2017-18. And that’s what the Avalanche did. He kept his focus squarely on the future, on what he still believed he and his teammates could accomplish. The three seasons in between featured a dismal 2016-17 in which Colorado finished with a league-worst 48 points. He’s a No. 1 pick who has blossomed into an NHL superstar, and now he’ll get to play on a bigger stage than he reached in his first eight years. And in 2019, he walked through the handshake line, stopping to congratulate goalie Martin Jones on handing Colorado a one-goal loss in Game 7. Late in one 2019 Avalanche defeat, MacKinnon lost his composure on the bench, spiking his green Gatorade water bottle and snapping at coach Jared Bednar. The Avalanche star didn’t want any of that to happen again, especially knowing the talent on Colorado’s roster.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) pats Colorado Avalanche center Darren Helm (43) on the head after winning game six against the St. Louis Blues at ...

So even take the goal away, they still all had a great night and they’ve been huge for us all series.” “He’s a guy that comes to the rink, smile on his face, and gets along with everybody. “They’re in the O-zone single shift. Helm won the Stanley Cup with Detroit as a rookie in 2008. MacKinnon was the star in a losing effort in Game 5, where he had three goals and an assist. Landeskog had three goals in the series against the Blues. So Colorado’s biggest names have risen to the occasion.

The Colorado Avalanche have advanced to the Stanley Cup semifinal for the first time since the 2001-02 season.