4-3 Avs OT FINAL
Colorado wins series 4-1
Colorado didn’t just win this one — they stole it back from the edge of the cliff, dragged it into their own barn, and slammed the door shut.
The Night the Ice Tilted Backward
Minnesota built the kind of first period that usually buries a team. Johansson scored 34 seconds in on a one‑timer from the left circle, Foligno added two more — one on a redirect at 11:03 and another at 15:56 off a desperation feed from Sturm — and for a moment it looked like Colorado were the ones headed for summer.
They even thought they had a 3–0 goal overturned when McCarron batted the puck with his hand before it went in . But the Wild still walked out of the first with a three‑goal cushion and the Avalanche looking rattled.
Then the game turned.
The Avalanche Start Digging
Parker Kelly’s deflection at 11:00 of the second cracked the seal, a classic Burns-for-a-tip play that beat Wallstedt short side Cur. It didn’t feel like a comeback yet — more like a pulse.
Jack Drury’s high-slot deflection at 16:27 of the third made it 3–2 and suddenly the building woke up. Minnesota were still hanging on, but the ice had tilted and everyone could feel it.
And then came the gut punch.
With Wedgewood pulled for the extra attacker, Nathan MacKinnon walked into the left dot and ripped a top‑shelf short‑side laser at 18:37 to tie it 3–3 — the kind of shot that leaves a goalie staring into the rafters, replaying the angle in his head. Wallstedt said afterward it “hurt a lot” and felt like one he normally stops, but MacKinnon picked a spot only he sees.
At that point, Minnesota weren’t defending a lead — they were defending gravity.
Overtime: Kulak Steps Out of the Chorus Line
Just 3:52 into OT, Martin Nečas threaded a cross‑ice pass to Brett Kulak, who hammered a one‑timer from the right dot past a sprawling Wallstedt to finish the comeback and the series.
Kulak’s own words tell the story: he’s not the guy anyone expects to be the hero, but he was in the right place, right moment, and buried the biggest goal of his career .
Colorado didn’t just erase a 3–0 deficit — they erased it in a series‑clinching game, becoming only the fifth team in NHL history to do so in the final five minutes of regulation.
Minnesota’s Side of the Ledger
Foligno called it “a great first period” but admitted they were stunned by how fast Colorado came in waves. Faber was blunt: Colorado outplayed them most of the series, and the Wild couldn’t hide from that reality.
Hynes, to his credit, didn’t sugarcoat the MacKinnon goal — “a heck of a shot by an unbelievable player” — but emphasized they had the structure in place and still got beat by precision.
This wasn’t a collapse of effort. It was a collapse of oxygen.
Colorado’s Bigger Picture
They now advance to face Vegas or Anaheim in the Western Conference Final, with Vegas leading that series 3–2 as of the report.
And they do it with:
- 17 different goal scorers through nine playoff games (7th team in NHL history)
- MacKinnon scoring in nearly half his playoff games — an absurd historical pace
- A belief system Bednar keeps hammering into them: drag each other into the fight, even on nights when not everyone has their best stuff
This was belief made visible.
Latest stats and highlights at source NHL.COM Minnesota Wild - Colorado Avalanche - May 13, 2026 | NHL.com
