Avalanche, Oilers combine for 14 Goals in Wild Start to Third Round

It didn't take long for the highly-anticipated high-flying third round matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers to hit high gear on Tuesday night. Squaring off in the first game of the best-of-seven Western Conference Final, the Avalanche hosted the Oilers in Game 1 - a contest that saw 14 total goals and four goaltenders, while an incredible 25 players picked up points on the evening. Edmonton actually got the ball rolling first, with Evander Kane getting his 13th of the postseason, in just his 13th game, opening the scoring at 5:04 of the first period. But in a manner that became the story of the game, the host Avalanche struck back quickly. JT Compher scored his third just 36 seconds after Kane's go-ahead tally. The teams exchanged goals three more times before the end of the period, as regular scorers Nathan MacKinnon, Zach Hyman and Cale Makar each found the twine before the opening 20 minutes came to a close. Makar's goal was challenged for offside by Edmonton head coach Jay Woodcroft, but the call stood, despite some not fully understanding the offside rule or the call on ice. https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1531983909885399040 The middle stanza lasted just 32 seconds before yet another goal was scored - this time a Nazem Kadri power play marker on a man advantage handed to the Avalanche on the unsuccessful coach's challenge. Ryan McLeod responded for Edmonton two-and-a-half minutes later, but then it was all Colorado through the duration of the frame. Goals from Mikko Rantanen, Compher and Andrew Cogliano gave the Avalanche a 7-3 lead, but Connor McDavid cut it to 7-4 with just over three minutes remaining. Derek Ryan and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the third period to make it a one-goal game, but Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog buried the Oilers with an empty-netter with 22 seconds to play, giving Colorado the highly-entertaining Game 1 victory, 8-6. After Mike Smith was pulled due to poor performance with six goals against on 25 shots, Darcy Kuemper also left the game for Colorado, with the team citing an upper-body injury. Pavel Francouz came in and earned the win in relief. Mikko Koskinen allowed one goal for Edmonton while filling in for the veteran Smith. Game 2 of the series goes Thursday evening from Ball Arena in Denver. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM central time.