National Hockey League
Colorado 5, Calgary 1
When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, April 19, 2019
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Andrew Smith
Attendance: 19289

Colin Wilson and Mikko Rantanen each collected two goals and one assist as the Colorado Avalanche extinguished the Calgary Flames with a 5-1 road victory Friday night to win their first-round playoff series in five games.

The Avalanche, who made the Western Conference playoffs as the final wild-card team, will face either the San Jose Sharks or Vegas Golden Knights in the second round after knocking out the West's regular-season champions.

Goalie Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves for the Avalanche, who won a playoff series for the first time since 2008.

Even though the Flames were the more desperate team, the Avalanche held the hosts without a shot for more than seven minutes and opened the scoring when Gabriel Landeskog deflected Tyson Barrie's point shot at 9:40 of the first period.

From there, the Flames just couldn't make the most of their chances, and they seemingly paid for it immediately after each time.

After Johnny Gaudreau first failed to convert on a penalty shot and missed on a breakaway, Rantanen doubled the lead with 4:22 remaining in the first period when he banked a sharp-angled shot off goalie Mike Smith.

The Flames received a jolt of life when TJ Brodie scored with 5.5 seconds left in the opening frame and carried much of the play in the first few minutes of the second period, but Wilson snuffed the comeback.

First, Wilson benefited from a neutral-zone turnover for a goal at 6:52 of the second period, and he then redirected Nathan MacKinnon's shot-pass for a power-play goal with 5:13 remaining in the middle frame.

Rantanen rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal 57 seconds into the third period.

"The three of us tried to do our best, but it was a team effort," MacKinnon told the CBC broadcast afterward, talking about his line with Rantanen and Landeskog, which combined for 21 points. "I think hockey's the ultimate team game."

MacKinnon and Barrie both collected three assists for the Avalanche.

Smith made 27 saves for the Flames, whose ousting combined with the Tampa Bay Lightning being swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets marked the first time in NHL history the two conference champs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Calgary
Mikko Rantanen 3 Points TJ Brodie 1
Mikko Rantanen 2 Goals TJ Brodie 1
Tyson Barrie 3 Assists Sam Bennett 1
Mikko Rantanen 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Philipp Grubauer .966 Save Percentage Mike Smith .844
Philipp Grubauer 28 Saves Mike Smith 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 32 5 2-5 3-3 6 29
Calgary 29 1 0-3 3-5 10 41
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Flames have a W/L % of .640 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .465 after a loss.