Game 1 Recap: Avalanche Edge Edmonton 8-6 in Electric Game 1

One win down, three to go.
The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers 8-6 in an electric and high flying Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night in front of a sold out crowd at Ball Arena.

J.T. Compher scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon (1G, 1A), Cale Makar (1G, 2A), Nazem Kadri (power play), Mikko Rantanen (1G, 1A), Andrew Cogliano and Gabriel Landeskog (empty net) scored. Six players recorded multipoint outings. Darcy Kuemper made six saves in the eight shots through 27:19 minutes before leaving the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. Pavel Francouz made 18 saves on 21 shots in 32:41 minutes.
For Edmonton, Evander Kane, Zach Hyman, Ryan McLeod, Connor McDavid, Derek Ryan, Ryan Nugent Hopkins (power play) scored. Mike Smith made 19 saves on 25 shots through 26:20 minutes. After the Avs took a 6-3 lead, Smith was replaced by Mikko Koskinen, who made 20 saves on 21 shots in 32:07 minutes.

REGULATION SUMMARY:

The high-octane offenses didn't disappoint in the barn burner of a Game 1 between the Avalanche and Oilers. Both sides went to work with a five-goal first period and a six-goal second period in the eventual 8-6 final score.
In the first period, the Avalanche led 3-2 and showcased resolve and a resilient effort following the first period as they countered Edmonton's both goals with immediate responses.
Despite dropping 1-0 to the Oilers 5:04 into the period as Kane got sprung off a quick turnover and counter attack and beat Kuemper with his shot over his glove, the Avs equalized the score 36 seconds later. Colorado turned the pressure up on the next shift and created a two-on-one rush with Alex Newhook and Compher. Newhook sent a cross-slot pass to Compher who beat a sliding Smith at 5:40.

With a 1-1 score, the Avalanche poured on the offense. They got rewarded and took a 2-1 lead with a quick counter again on a quick breakout. From behind the net, Makar played Toews who sprung MacKinnon at Edmonton's blueline. The electric centerman turned on the jets and went backhand-to-forehand before tucking a shot in between Smith's legs for his team-leading ninth goal of the postseason at 15:10.
Late in the opening period, Edmonton equalized the score 2-2 on a zone cycle beginning in the left faceoff circle. Connor McDavid played Brett Kulak who centered a shot on net and Hyman tapped it in on the backdoor at 19:37. On the very next shift and just nine seconds later, Makar stripped Kane of the puck by the Edmonton bench, skated into the offensive zone and ripped his shot over Smith's glove at 19:46. The Oilers challenged the goal for offsides, but the goal was confirmed good upon review.
The high scoring game continued in the electric second period as Colorado finished the frame with four goals and a 7-4 lead. They got the scoring going with a power-play strike from Kadri at 32 seconds as he finished a loose puck off on the doorstep. Edmonton trimmed its deficit down 4-3 at 2:59 on an end-to-end breakout where Kuemper made the initial stop on Warren Foegele, but McLeod swooped in and buried the loose puck.

The one-goal separation in score was short lived as Colorado pulled ahead with goals from Rantanen, Compher and Cogliano. Rantanen wired a shot from atop the right faceoff circle - off a slick cross-ice feed from MacKinnon - to give the Avs a 5-3 lead at 5:38. Compher recorded his second goal of the night at 6:20 as he redirected a Makar blast from the point and ended Smith's night as he was replaced by Koskinen. The Avs extended their lead 7-3 at 16:20 as Cogliano buried a feed from Logan O'Connor on an odd-man rush, where O'Connor showed patience before threading his pass to Cogliano on the backdoor.
The Oilers' big guns made it a 7-4 game at 16:51 as Leon Draisaitl found McDavid across the slot for a backdoor one-timer.
In the third period, the Oilers trimmed their deficit down to one goal with strikes from Ryan and a power-play goal from Nugent Hopkins.
Ryan first put the Oilers within two goals at 3:28 in the final frame as he buried a loose puck around the goal mouth. Avs captain Landeskog took a holding penalty on McDavid at 11:19. On the Edmonton power play, Draisaitl - who was positioned at the goal line - played a pass to the backdoor where Nugent-Hopkins made it a 7-6 game at 12:36.
Landeskog iced the game for the Avalanche as he scored on the empty net with 22 seconds left in the game.

IN NET:

Kuemper made six saves in the eight shots through 27:19 before leaving the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. Francouz made 18 saves on 21 shots as he took over the net for Kuemper. Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar did not have an update on Kuemper following the game.
Kuemper was solid despite not facing a large workload. The Avalanche netminder made a key stop on a second period breakaway on Zach Kassian and then his team rewarded him with Rantnanen's strike. Kuemper left the game in the second period and was listed as "doubtful" to return per the team.

Francouz took over the net for Kuemper and was sharp in the second period. The Czech goalie came up with crucial stops in particular on Edmonton's first power play of the game at 17:05 in the second period. On that power play, Francouz denied Ryan Nugent Hopkins in the slot, smothered an Evan Bouchard shot from distance and an attempt from McLeod to jam it in; all of which warranted applause from the crowd at Ball Arena.
Francouz continued to be strong for the Avalanche especially towards the waning minutes of the third period when Edmonton mounted a push to attempt to tie the game up.

NOTEWORTHY:

• J.T. Compher scored his third goals of the postseason and now has three goals in his last two games.
• MacKinnon scored his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs.
• Makar scored his fourth goal of the postseason and finished the game with four points (1G, 3A).
• Kadri scored his sixth goal of the postseason.
• Rantanen scored his second goal of the postseason.
• Cogliano buried his second goal of the playoffs.
• Landeskog's empty netter marked his seventh goal of the playoffs.
• Colorado finished the game 1-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
• Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Nico Sturm, Ryan Murray, Kurtis MacDermid, Samuel Girard (upper body) and Trent Miner were scratches for Colorado.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche and Edmonton continue the Western Conference Finals in Denver with Game 2 on Thursday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.