Avalanche v. Blues – Avs Overpower Blues for Sweep

#1 Colorado Avalanche v. #4 St. Louis Blues – Game 4
Avalanche Leads Series 3-0

“We’re gonna have some fun and we’re gonna beat them.” How’d that work out Mr. O’Reilly? Not so well it seems. The Colorado Avalanche basically had their way with the St. Louis Blues for four straight games with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar flexing on them throughout the entire series. The Blues could never seem to find that extra gear they needed in order to compete with the Avalanche and they are now eliminated and find themselves asking what direction they will take things this summer. The Avalanche on the other hand will get some much needed rest before they take on either the Minnesota Wild or the Vegas Golden Knights. Let’s jump into game four. 

A scoreless first period came and went. At 4:25 of the second period, Vladimir Tarasenko would give the Blues a glimmer of hope in their fight to try to win even a single game when he beat Philipp Grubauer with a nice breakaway goal. It was Tarasenko’s first goal of the postseason. That lead would last about seven minutes until the Avalanche began their onslaught. At 11:37 of the second period, Brandon Saad would tie the game. Saad wired the puck past Jordan Binnington in the high slot and would score his third of the playoffs after converting a sweet dish from Cale Makar. Just three minutes later, the Avalanche would take the lead on the Blues when the captain stepped up. At 14:53 of the second period, Gabriel Landeskog would perfectly deflect a Sam Girard shot past Binnington to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead late in the second period. It was Landeskog’s second goal of the playoffs and it couldn’t have come at a better time. 

That would conclude the scoring of the second period and man was everyone in for a wild ride in the third. The Avalanche continued their dominance of the Blues just 4:20 into the third period when Mikko Rantanen would net his first goal of the postseason. Rantanen and MacKinnon would break in on a short 2-on-1 and Rantanen had no problems burying MacKinnon’s great feed to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead. The Blues were running out of hope and running out of time. 

The Blues would show a little life again when Tarasenko scored his second of the night and second of the postseason. Robert Thomas would laser a pass cross ice to Tarasenko who sniped the puck past Grubauer to get the Blues within one. That goal would prove to be the Blues’ final breath of life in this series. At 19:04 of the third period, Nathan MacKinnon would snap the puck into the empty net for his sixth (yes, SIXTH) goal of the postseason in just four game. MacKinnon finds another gear when he gets to the playoffs and man is he fun to watch. Just 50 seconds later, Valeri Nichuskin would pot first goal of the postseason when he scored into the empty net. 

AVALANCHE WIN SERIES 4-0