DENVER -- Nathan MacKinnon scored 3:27 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday to claim a 3-2 advantage in a Western Conference first-round series.
MacKinnon collected a loose puck deep in the left faceoff circle and chipped a shot over the glove of fellow rookie Darcy Kuemper (31 saves) and under the crossbar to end the contest. The top overall pick of the 2013 draft also had two assists.
PA Parenteau forged a 3-3 tie with 1:14 remaining in the third period while defenseman Nick Holden and Cody McLeod also tallied for the Central Division-champion Avalanche. Colorado looks to wrap up the series on the road in Game 6 on Monday.
Zach Parise, Kyle Brodziak and Matt Moulson scored while Dany Heatley notched two assists for the Wild. Minnesota, which skated to a 1-0 overtime victory in Game 3 and a 2-1 triumph in Game 4, will need to win its third straight contest at home to extend the series.
Jason Pominville set up Parise for a blast from the left circle 4:34 into the third period as Minnesota tied the contest at 2-2. Brodziak gave the Wild their first lead at 6:25, unleashing a shot from the blue line that sailed past a screened Semyon Varlamov (29 saves). The Vezina Trophy finalist was pulled for an extra attacker with 2:22 remaining, and Parenteau chipped home Paul Stastny's centering feed for his first career playoff goal.
ADVERTISEMENT
GAME NOTEBOOK: The home team has won each of the contests in the series. ... Colorado C Ryan O'Reilly stripped Minnesota D Ryan Suter of the puck in the neutral zone before feeding McLeod, who shoveled the puck past Kuemper at 8:04 of the second period to open the scoring. Moulson tipped D Jared Spurgeon's one-timer past Varlamov 73 seconds later, but Holden deftly deflected fellow D Andre Benoit's blast from the point three minutes afterward to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. ... Avalanche C Matt Duchene (knee) participated in line drills during the morning skate before sitting out Game 5. Coach Patrick Roy told the Denver Post that he wanted to see how Duchene responds to physical contact before his possible participation in Game 6.
