DENVER — Whew!
What was anticipated as a wild, wild Western Conference Finals surpassed expectations in a Game 1 shootout Tuesday night at Ball Arena, with 14 goals scored. It was a video-game-like game between the NHL’s highest-scoring playoff teams before a sellout crowd of 18,044 and a TNT national television audience.
The Avalanche won, 8-6, but it became extremely uncomfortable as Edmonton chiseled away at a 7-3 lead. The Oilers rallied for three consecutive goals to get within 7-6 with 7:34 remaining. Colorado, making its first trip to the conference finals since 2002, held on behind backup goalie Pavel Francouz, who was outstanding in the final minute before an empty-net goal by Gabe Landeskog with 21.4 seconds left sealed the deal.
