The Colorado Avalanche were 74 seconds away from finding themselves headed back to the Xcel Energy Center down 3-2 in their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Minnesota Wild. Instead, a couple of questionable calls later, PA Parenteau scored to send Game 5 to overtime.
In the overtime period, Avalanche rookie phenom Nathan MacKinnon scored the winner just 3:27 into extra time to give Colorado a rather improbable comeback victory.
Game 6 goes Monday at 9 p.m. ET.
Star performer
Watching NHL defenders attempt to stop Avalanche rookie phenom Nathan MacKinnon when he's entering the zone with speed is rather comical. It's a spectacle that invokes the words scrawled on the entrance of hell in Dante's Inferno: "Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here."
MacKinnon picked up three points (1G+2A=3) in Game 5 on Friday. One of his assists came on a second period go-ahead goal in which he left Wild defenders in the dust, and then he added the overtime winner:
[Courtesy NHL.com]
What can't MacKinnon do?
Turning point
The Minnesota Wild might be upset about the officiating late in Game 5. A series of controversial non-calls led directly to Parenteau's game-tying goal with just over a minute remaining:
[Courtesy NHL.com]
Highlight reel:
Wild forward Zach Parise scored his first goal of the NHL postseason to tie the game in the third period, and it was a beauty. Just a perfectly placed wrist shot:
Quote of the night
How confident are the Colorado Avalanche right now? "We believe," MacKinnon told the Denver Post. "Even when we got that penalty with four minutes left we thought we would tie it up."
Series at a glance
Game 1 Recap: Avalanche 5, Wild 4 (OT)
Game 2 Recap: Avalanche 4, Wild 2
Game 3 Recap: Wild 1, Avalanche 0 (OT)
Game 4 Recap: Wild 2, Avalanche 1
