The Colorado Avalanche seemed a little bit off to open Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa on Wednesday. They had lost Game 3 and were shelled early on as goaltender Darcy Kuemper was tested time and time again in the first period. But he made big plays and kept his team in the game despite Anthony Cirelli scoring just 36 seconds into the affair.
Nathan MacKinnon would take advantage of that on a power play 5:17 into the second period as the Avs equalized, but they’d again fall behind when Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning roughly five minutes later. The hosts, looking to even the series up at two games apiece, would hold that lead until Andrew Cogliano tied it up at 2-2 with a goal 2:53 into the third period. From there, neither team was able to find the net for well over a period as the game trudged into overtime. After 12 minutes of OT, we finally got a winner as Nazem Kadri, fresh off his return from an injury, found the net with a stunner, handing the Avs a 3-1 lead in the series and allowing them to head back to Denver with a shot to wrap up the series in five.
