The Colorado Avalanche won their first round series against the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 win in Game 4 on Sunday at the Enterprise Center. The Avs advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third year in a row.
St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko scored the first goal of the game in the second period, however Brandon Saad and Gabriel Landeskog counted before the second break and Mikko Rantanen found the back of the net early in the third to put Colorado 3-1 ahead.
Tarasenko met Cord again in the third verse during a power play to reduce the Blues’ deficit to 3: 2 Nathan MacKinnon and Valery Nichushkin everyone hit an empty net to seal victory.
Colorado’s top line of MacKinnon, Landeskog and Rantanen each had a goal and an assist to end the game with a total of six points.
Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves and had an assist to take his fourth consecutive victory of the postseason.
Colorado takes on the winner of the Minnesota Wild-Vegas Golden Knights series in Round 2. Vegas currently leads 3-1 in the first round.
THE GOALS
1. Period
No value
2nd period
4:25 STL (0-1) – Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a runaway glove side.
11:37 COL (1-1) – PPG, Brandon Saad tied the game with a shot from the slot that went to the top shelf.
14:53 COL (2-1) – Gabriel Landeskog tilted Samuel Girard‘s shot and it hit line.
3rd period
4:20 COL (3-1) – Mikko Rantanen scored five holes on the ice with Nathan MacKinnon.
8:39 STL (3-2) – PPG, Vladimir Tarasenko halved the deficit of St. Louis in the power play from the left circle.
19:04 COL (4-2) – DE-PPG, Nathan MacKinnon hit an empty net from Center Ice.
19:54 COL (5-2) – EN-PPG, Valery Nichushkin sent the puck from the goal line into an empty net.
Final: Avalanche – 5 | Blues – 2nd
3 STARS
- Mikko Rantanen (COL): Had the game winner and an assist
- Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): scored two goals
- Gabriel Landeskog (COL): Goal scored and assist added
Selected by St. Louis Media
POWER GAMES
Colorado: 3 for 3
St. Louis: 1 for 2
TARGET BATTLE
Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 18 parades and added a template.
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington stopped 29 of 32 shots.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Colorado swept its opening round of a playoff year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the second time in franchise history (including the 2001 Western Conference Quarterfinals against Vancouver). Since the Presidents’ Trophy was first presented in 1985-86, only three award winners have accomplished the feat: Edmonton (1986 Division Semifinals v Vancouver), New York Rangers (1994 Conference Quarterfinals v New York Islanders), and Dallas (1999 Conference quarter-finals against Edmonton). The Avs are the first team to accomplish this feat twice.
The Avalanche has advanced in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season. The last time the Avs got through the opening round for three consecutive years was when they did so in four consecutive campaigns from 1999 to 2002 – the only other time the club has accomplished this feat in franchise history.
NOTEBOOK
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist and now has a point in all four Colorado playoff games this year, a total of one goal and six assists… Gabriel Landeskog scored and added an assistant and also had a point in all four games against the blues, who increased his postseason to eight (two goals, six assists) … Philipp Grubauer had an assist on Brandon Saad’s record, his second point in the playoffs with the Avalanche, after he was also in game 2 of the game the 2nd against the San Jose Sharks … Brandon Saad scored for the third straight time … Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assistant and now has nine points (six goals, three assists) in four games … Colorado scored three power play goals in three chances and now has six Man advantage goals at twelve chances in four competitions … The Avalanche is now 5-0 all-time in the playoff series if they hold a 3-0 lead. This is the third time the club has won a streak like this … The Avs have hit 22-14 in their 36 playoff series since arriving in Denver. Overall, the team is 28-23 in Colorado / Quebec franchise history.
BIG HIGHLIGHT
Video: COL @ STL, Gm4: MacKinnon, Rantanen team up for the goal
IMAGE OF THE GAME
Hockey hugs!
ROSTER REPORT
The Avalanche used the same skaters as in Game 3, although Philipp Grubauer was supported by Devan Dubnyk Instead of Jonas Johansson. It was the first game Dubnyk attracted in the series after being on the NHL’s COVID log from May 3-14.
INJURY UPDATE
- Alex Newhook (lower body): Left the game in the first third after being kicked into the boards and not coming back
- Matt Calvert (Upper body): From long term
- Pavel Francouz (Lower body): After an operation earlier this year, expected to be completely healthy again in the next season
- Erik Johnson (Upper body): Might return later in the postseason
- Logan O’Connor (Lower body): Long-term failure after surgery
NEXT
The Avalanche will face the winner of the Minnesota Wild-Vegas Golden Knights series in Round 2. Vegas is currently leading 3-1 in their first-round matchup, with Game 5 scheduled for Monday at 8:30 p.m. MT.
LINE COMBINATIONS
Based on the start of the game
Forward
92 Gabriel Landeskog – 29 Nathan MacKinnon – 96 Mikko Rantanen
95 André Burakowski – 37 JT Compher – 72 Joonas Donskoi
20 Brandon Saad – Jan. Tyson Jost – 13 Valery Nichushkin
34 Carl Söderberg – 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – 18 Alex Newhook
defender
7th Devon Toews – 8th Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard – 27 Ryan Graves
24 Patrik Nemeth – 22 Conor Timmins
goalkeeper
31 Philipp Grubauer
40 Devan Dubnyk
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