05/13/26 11:53:00
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05/13 23:51 CDT Brett Kulak scores 3:52 into OT, Avs advance to West final with
4-3 win over Wild
Brett Kulak scores 3:52 into OT, Avs advance to West final with 4-3 win over
Wild
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP) --- Brett Kulak's first goal since January will certainly be one to
remember --- for him, of course, and a building packed with fans who witnessed,
in dramatic fashion, the Avalanche end a series at home for the first time in
18 years.
The Colorado defenseman scored 3:52 into overtime after Nathan MacKinnon tied
it late in regulation and the Avalanche advanced to the Western Conference
final with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Kulak capped a wild comeback for the Avalanche, who trailed 3-0 midway through
the second period. Colorado moves on to the conference final for an eighth time
since relocating to Denver in 1995-96.
"You always like to dream about it," Kulak said. "The player I am, I'm not the
guy everyone's looking down the bench, like, ?All right, get out there, go win
it for us.'"
The Avalanche will face the Vegas-Anaheim winner. Vegas leads that series 3-2.
With Minnesota up 3-1, Jack Drury scored with 3:33 remaining to set the stage
for MacKinnon's goal with 1:23 left with the Colorado goal empty. The star
forward sent a shot from the left side past Jesper Wallstedt and into a small
space in the top left corner.
In overtime, Martin Necas took the puck, glided behind the net and back out
front, where he found an open Kulak. Without missing a stride, Kulak lined it
past Wallstedt.
Kulak was one of several late additions this season as he joined the Avalanche
on Feb. 24 as part of a deal that sent Samuel Girard to Pittsburgh. Kulak
became the 16th Avalanche player to score in the Minnesota series.
He also was an unlikely OT hero. This was his first goal since Jan. 19 when he
was with the Penguins, which also was his only goal of the regular season.
"For us to play the way we did and get the job done, and just for me, a special
goal in my career, for sure," said Kulak, who started the season with Edmonton
before being dealt to Pittsburgh in December. "We just clawed back into it and
got the job done."
It was a rare series-ending win at home for Colorado, too. The last time the
Avalanche won a series on home ice was 2008 against the Wild, when the team had
Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg.
"That was fun," MacKinnon said. "A lot of fun."
Marcus Johansson scored 34 seconds into the game and Nick Foligno added two
goals to give the Wild a 3-0 after the first period. It led Colorado to take
out Mackenzie Blackwood after the first and insert Scott Wedgewood, who made
seven saves.
Late in the game, Cale Makar collided with Mats Zuccarello and was grabbing his
right arm. Makar went down the tunnel before returning to the ice.
The Avalanche overcame a three-goal deficit to win a playoff game for just the
third time in 53 tries since moving to Denver. The Wild had been 21-0 when
leading a playoff game by at least three goals before the elimination loss.
"Just anger and frustration," Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber said. "You work
all year for one thing, and just feels like it closes like that. It's just
done."
Wallstedt stopped 30 shots for the Wild. Matt Boldy and Nico Sturm each had two
assists for a banged-up Wild team that was missing center Joel Eriksson Ek and
defenseman Jonas Brodin all series.
"When you go after something like this, there's going to be two sides of the
coin," Wild coach John Hynes said. "One is you're going to win, which is a
great feeling. And when you lose, it's an empty feeling."
___
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