In Edmonton, the Arizona Coyotes were exposed as the paper tigers they are.
The Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon andNazem Kadri struck for two goals each in a 7-1 rout of the Coyotes in Game 5.
“We feel like our team has arrived,” MacKinnon said. “We haven’t won anything, but winning this series, we’re a hungry group, a group that really cares about one another. We have great chemistry, there’s a good vibe to our team, so it’s great to get this playoffs off on the right foot. We played hard in all five games and we’re ready for whoever we play in the second round.”
It was the second consecutive game that ended on the same count.
“The last couple games we just had really good starts,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “The power play capitalized (3-for-4 in Game 5), and our big guns were firing on all cylinders. It was almost a mirror image tonight of the other night. There are so many things I like about our team, but now, getting into the [second round], I feel that way about every team.”
Phillip Grubauer made 23 saves for the win.
“It’s been amazing to watch,” Grubauer said. “I think we found our rhythm here and we got to make sure we move forward with the same effort in the next round.”
The Avs had a 6-0 lead before the Coyotes broke through on a goal from Clayton Keller in the third period.
“We were overmatched,” Coyotes chead oach Rick Tocchet said. “For this game, you take three penalties right off the bat. You can’t do that against Colorado. What’s frustrating is, they’re just not smart penalties. We knew we had to get a good start. We had no answer for MacKinnon the whole series.”
J.T. Compher, Samuel Girard and Nikita Zadorov added single markers in the win.
“That’s a heck of a team over there,” Tocchet said. “That line is incredible. You’ve got to be on your game to defend that line.”
[WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Avalanche highlights]
Darcy Kuemper got the start and yielded six of the goals and made 24 saves in the loss.
“It stinks,” the Coyotes’ Derek Stepan said. “Any time you lose, it’s never fun. But just the way it went down, it’s going to be sour for a while, and I hope that’s maybe some fuel going into next season. But any time you lose, no matter if you lose 2-1 or 7-1, it still stinks, but this one leaves a little bit of a bitter taste.”
Antti Raanta made five saves in another mop up effort.
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