On Thursday night in Denver, the Avalanche scored three goals on three consecutive shots in a span of 2:04 in the middle frame, to take a 3-0 lead over the Edmonton Oilers.
In a span of 124 seconds, the Avs went from a scoreless tussle with the Oilers, to a 4-0 blowout in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.
Not to be lost was the 24-save shutout by Pavel Francouz.
Well, it could really hardly be lost give the chants of “Frankie, Frankie” coming from the Colorado faithful.
“I think I found out [I was starting] yesterday for sure,” Francouz said. “I was kind of thinking that I’m going to play, already after the other game. But they told me I’m going to start [Wednesday] afternoon. “You were a little nervous and you have it in the back of your mind. It’s a really important game.
“But what helped me was the way our team played tonight since [the] first seconds. I knew [they’d] help me a lot. That made me more calm and I could just focus on my play.”
Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson, and Mikko Rantanen scored in the second period outburst.
“I was just happy. I needed a little bounce-back game from [Game 1], and it was nice to see that one go in,” Manson said.
Lehkonen started the streak at 3:56 of the period.
“They found a way to break through. We didn’t,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “They’ve got good players, they’ve got good [defensemen]. We haven’t had a ton of chances off the rush. We’ve got to find a way to create off the forecheck and off [offensive zone] play. They do a lot of good things, and we’ve got to find a way to figure them out.”
Nazem Kadri assisted on all three goals.
“I’m playing with some great players; it’s not all me,” Kadri said. “‘Lehky’ did a great job finding me a couple times. Mikko, I don’t really have to say anything about him. He’s an incredible player.
“We all know playoff hockey; once it gets to four or two teams, that’s going to be a difference maker for sure. Everyone contributes, and it’s definitely tough to keep up with.”
Nathan MacKinnon twisted the dagger a little in the third period with a power play goal for the 4-0 final.
“They’re a good team. They play fast,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “They’ve got elite skaters on the back end. They are able break out the puck fast and move through the neutral zone pretty fast. We’ve got to do a better job of getting to the paint, we’ve got do a better job getting in on the forecheck, getting sustained pressure. I think at times when we’re doing it you can see it works. But I just don’t think we’re doing it enough.”
Game 3 is Edmonton on Saturday.
“I thought it was a really competitive first period. I thought we laid it on the line, especially finding ourselves down, shorthanded,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I thought we pushed back, we generated some offense, [but] that little span in the second period really hurt us, took the wind out of our sails. We weren’t able to generate.”
The Oilers head trailing in the series, 0-2.
“I think we’re still a confident group. It’s a series, right? This is how it goes,” defenseman Brett Kulak said. “There’s momentum swings. It’s a roller coaster. They defended home ice, so we have an opportunity to go back, feed off our crowd and get the momentum back. We’ve done a really good job all year when our backs have been against the wall, pushing back, facing adversity. This is a big opportunity for us to do that.”
Two minutes of ice time may well have cost the Oilers a shot at the Stanley Cup, they will need a monumental effort to rally back against an Avs team that smells the Cup fro here.
“Our detail tonight and our focus was just exactly what we wanted to do,” Kadri said. “We wanted to turn it up a notch. We understood that last game probably wasn’t sustainable for the whole series.
“Obviously, they’re a high-octane team. I think we did a great job defensively. ‘Frankie’ made some big saves. So, all that put together results in a shutout, so very proud of the guys for that.”
Mike Smith made 36 saves in the Oilers loss.
“There’s just a bit of a stretch in the second there where they got one, then we compounded it, they got two, they got three, and that’s momentum. That’s how this team rolls,” Edmonton defenseman Tyson Barrie said. “We have to do a better job when they do get one, we have to stop the bleeding. We can’t compound and let it spiral out of control for the couple of minutes that it did.”
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