Between a disappointing loss in Game 1, and the fact that the Colorado Avalanche were going to their backup goalie Pavel Francouz after Darcy Kuemper was hurt in Game 1, many people probably expected a big answer from the Edmonton Oilers for Game 2. Not only did they not answer big, they didn’t answer at all, as the Avs didn’t give them much to work with in a 4-0 win.
While the first period remained scoreless, there was still some incredible hockey to watch. The two teams combined for 27 shots, and the goalies came prepared to stop everything, including this head-butt from Mike Smith.
The second period saw that shift drastically, and quickly. In the span of just 2:04, the Avs got three goals from Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson and Mikko Rantanen, and suddenly they had a 3-0 lead. To make matters worse for the Oilers, Kailer Yamamoto suffered an upper-body injury and was out for the rest of the game.
Smith stayed in the game despite the quick flurry of goals, and while he didn’t necessarily hurt Edmonton from that point on, especially when the Oilers didn’t generate anything offensively, it also didn’t help. Nathan MacKinnon scored the dagger late in the third to put the game out of hand, and the Avs took Game 2, 4-0, for a 2-0 series lead.
Lehkonen and Rantanen finished the night with a goal and an assist, but more impressively, Nazem Kadri finished the night with three primary assists, all coming in that 2:04 span of goals in the second. Pavel Francouz, who faced a lot of doubt going into the game, pitched a 24-save shutout, keeping Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet for the first time since their Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
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