Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog perfectly sums up Nathan MacKinnon’s Game 5 heroics appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Colorado Avalanche didn’t have things all their own way on Wednesday night in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild, but they showed up and played their best when their backs were against the wall. After the Wild ripped off three consecutive goals in the first period, the Avs slowly worked their way back into the game to get a 4-3 overtime win and win the series in five games.
After Jack Drury cut the Wild lead to just one with less than four minutes to go, the Avalanche still needed to find one more goal to even things up. Nathan MacKinnon, as he has so many times before, came up with the goods. With the net empty, MacKinnon found a sliver of space shortside against Jesper Wallstedt to even things up at three.
Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog has seen MacKinnon make plenty of incredible plays during their time together. After the game, he marveled at another one during one of the biggest moments of the season
“Special players make special plays,” Landeskog said. “And Nate puts it where it didn’t look like there was a whole lot of room.”
In overtime, Martin Necas found Brett Kulak for the game-winning goal just 3:52 in, and the Avs are heading to the Western Conference Finals as a result.
Incredibly, MacKinnon scored a goal in each of the five games against the Wild in this second-round series. He added four assists, all of which came in the first two games, bringing his total to nine points for the series. He has been the best player on the ice consistently for Colorado so far in the postseason, and they will need that to continue if they want to get eight more wins and get their hands on a second Stanley Cup in the last five seasons.
The Avs will now have a good amount of time off before the Western Conference Finals get underway. Colorado will play the winner between the Golden Knights and the Ducks, with Vegas currently leading the series 3-2.
Related: Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon reveals how his team grew closer after eliminating Wild
Related: Avalanche’s Brett Kulak keeps it real about his OT goal that finished the Wild
