Kulak's Overtime Winner Completes Avalanche's Three-Goal Comeback, Sends Colorado to Western Conference Final with 4-3 Game Five Victory Over Wild

Winning Wednesday

Brett Kulak scored the overtime-winner to cap off the Avalanche's three-goal comeback and send Colorado to the Western Conference Final with a 4-3 victory in Game Five of Round Two against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

"You always like to dream about it," Kulak said when asked about scoring a series-clinching goal. "But, like you say, the player I am, I'm not the guy everyone's looking down the bench at like, 'all right, get out there and go win it for us.'...That was a special goal in my career for sure."

Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-tying goal for Colorado while Parker Kelly and Jack Drury each added tallies for Colorado. Additionally, Brent Burns and Martin Necas both posted two assists and Scott Wedgewood stopped all seven shots he faced in relief. 

Kulak's overtime goal was the first of his NHL career and the 10th series-clinching overtime winner in Avalanche franchise history.

Before hopping over the boards and providing the game-winning primary assist, Necas noticed that there were only four Avs players on the ice. 

"I just saw that we were coming back in our zone and we had four guys," Necas said. "So I was like, 'might as well jump [on the ice] there.'"

With the game-tying goal, MacKinnon extended his goal streak to six games.

"That building was so special tonight," MacKinnon said about Ball Arena. "It was so loud. That's why you play the game. For those reasons right there. The excitement when Kuly (Kulak) scored, it's just a really cool moment for everybody."

Additionally, MacKinnon has now scored a goal in 46.2% of his playoff games, which is tied for the third-highest mark in NHL history. 

In this series, Colorado's depth shined, as its 16 different goal-scorers were tied for the most by a team in a single playoff series.

"They've been an amazing line all season for us," MacKinnon said about the Kelly-Drury-Joel Kiviranta line. "They play a huge role for us and last game, Kells (Kelly) scoring the winner and tonight Drurs (Drury) kind of getting us back in it--and Kells getting it back--so yeah, they scored twice. They are doing an unreal job. We wouldn't be here without them, and it just shows you need literally everybody to win even a series in this League, it's so difficult."

How It Happened

Minnesota's Marcus Johansson opened the scoring at 34 seconds of the first period via a one-timer from the top of the left circle.

Nick Foligno doubled Minnesota's lead at 11:03 of the first period via a backhand shot from the doorstep off the rush.

The Wild took a 3-0 lead at 15:56 of the first period when Foligno scored his second goal of the game via a shot from the left doorstep off the rush. 

After Kiviranta won a long battle for the puck along the end boards, Kelly put the Avs on the board at 11:00 of the middle frame with his second goal of the playoffs via a redirect from the left circle on Burns' right-point shot.

Drury made it a 3-2 game at 16:27 of the third period with his second goal of the playoffs via a deflection from the slot on Devon Toews' point shot.

While playing with six skaters, the Avalanche tied the game at 18:37 of the third period when MacKinnon scored his seventh goal of the playoffs via a top-shelf shot from below the left face-off circle.

Kulak scored the game-winning goal at 3:52 of overtime with his first goal of the playoffs via a right-circle one-timer set up by Necas' cross-slot feed.

Next Up

The Avalanche will face either the Anaheim Ducks or Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.