DENVER (AP) 鈥� Brett Kulak鈥檚 first goal since January will certainly be one to remember 鈥� 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 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.
鈥淵ou always like to dream about it,鈥� Kulak said. 鈥淭he player I am, I鈥檓 not the guy everyone鈥檚 looking down the bench, like, 鈥楢ll right, get out there, go win it for us.鈥欌��
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鈥檚 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.
鈥淔or us to play the way we did and get the job done, and just for me, a special goal in my career, for sure,鈥� said Kulak, who started the season with Edmonton before being dealt to Pittsburgh in December. 鈥淲e just clawed back into it and got the job done.鈥�
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.
鈥淭hat was fun,鈥� MacKinnon said. 鈥淎 lot of fun.鈥�
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.
鈥淛ust anger and frustration,鈥� Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber said. 鈥淵ou work all year for one thing, and just feels like it closes like that. It鈥檚 just done.鈥�
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 all series.
鈥淲hen you go after something like this, there鈥檚 going to be two sides of the coin,鈥� Wild coach John Hynes said. 鈥淥ne is you鈥檙e going to win, which is a great feeling. And when you lose, it鈥檚 an empty feeling.鈥�
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