Avs storm back from down 3-0, make West finals

DENVER — Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime after Nathan MacKinnon tied it late in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche advanced to the Western Conference finals 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 finals for the eighth time since relocating to Denver in 1995-96.

The Avalanche will face the winner of Vegas and Anaheim. The Golden Knights lead that series 3-2.

With Minnesota up 3-1, Jack Drury scored with 3:33 remaining to set the stage for MacKinnon’s 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 joined the Avalanche on Feb. 24 as part of a deal that Samuel Girard to Pittsburgh. Kulak was the 16th Avalanche player to score in the series.

“You always like to dream about it,” Kulak said. “The player I am, I’m not the guy [they’re] looking down the bench, hollering, ‘Get out there, go win it for us.'”

The Avs became the fifth team in NHL history to earn a series-clinching win after facing a multigoal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation, according to ESPN Research.

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.

“That was fun,” MacKinnon said Wednesday. “A lot of fun.”

Marcus Johansson scored 34 seconds into the game and Nick Foligno added two goals to give the Wild a 3-0 lead after the first period. That led Colorado to take out Mackenzie Blackwood after the first and insert Scott Wedgewood, who made seven saves.

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.

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 Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin all series.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.