In overtime, Tyler Bozark scored on a goal to give the Blues a win and stave off elimination. (1:00)
Tyler Bozak's goal at 3:38 of overtime gave the St. Louis Blues a comeback win over the Colorado Avs in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, avoiding elimination and forcing a Game 6 back at home.
The Blues, who trail in the second-round series 3-2, rallied twice to stun the Avalanche, who were 56 seconds away from their first Western Conference finals appearance since 2002. Bozak won it after Robert Thomas scored to force overtime.
A group of guys. Got down. The season should not be over. Bozak said that he got some big goals late.
Bozak scored his second goal of the playoffs on a long slap shot. The veteran center played just 7 minutes and 16 seconds in the game.
I saw a lane to the net after getting a bounce up top. There is no such thing as a bad shot in overtime. I tried to get through the traffic. He said that all that mattered was that it went in.
The Blues came back to tie the game in the third after being down by three. The Blues still had a fight left in them despite Nathan MacKinnon's amazing end-to-end goal that gave Colorado the 4-3 lead.
We fight back and then give up the goal. It could have been deflating, but our guys have a lot of guts.
The arena was vibrating with excitement after the MacKinnon goal, but the Blues found another comeback, as Tarasenko's shot bounced off Kuemper and was knocked in by Thomas for his second of the game to force overtime.
After failing to score in the first 10 games of the playoffs, Thomas had two goals on the night.
He joked that it was better late than never.
MacKinnon had his second career playoff hat trick, but it wasn't enough as the Avs lost.
MacKinnon said they have to win Game 6 on the road. It will make our team a little harder. You cannot win every game in four and five games. We are excited to have a huge challenge in St. Louis and try to close out the series.
MacKinnon had yet to score a goal against the Blues in the second round after scoring five goals in the opening round. He scored his first goal of the series just 3:51 into the game, taking a pass from Artturi Lehkonen and snapping a shot from the slot past Blues goalie Ville Husso (30 saves), playing his third game in place of injured starter Jordan Binnington.
He scored a power-play goal in the first period on a shot that was tight on Husso.
Gabriel Landeskog tipped home a shot from defenseman Devon Toews as the Avs extended their lead to three.
The Blues finally found some life when forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a blast from the left circle at 14:42 of the second period. Thomas finally found the back of the net at 9:57 of the third period, on a nice setup from linemates.
You have nothing to lose. You should throw it all out there. Thomas said that was the mindset.
The Blues tied the game at 15:14 of the third period on a scramble in front of the Kuemper. The key to the comeback was getting to the Colorado net after the Avs dominated play for most of the game.
Guys kept fighting. That is really what it is. We were quick to be down, so we didn't get off to a good start. He said that the second half of the second period was when they started to come with their game. Winning battles down there. We went north. That is what it is.
The battle back was almost over when MacKinnon completed his hat trick with one of the best goals of the playoffs. He beat Nick Leddy to shoot the puck and sped through all three zones.
It was the second game in a row that a player had a hat trick, after center Nazem Kadri scored three goals in the fourth game. Kadri was back in Denver for the first time since his collision with Binnington. Kadri, who is Muslim and of Lebanese descent, was the subject of racist comments and threats that required additional police presence at Colorado's hotel and Enterprise Center in St. Louis for Game 4.
Fans in Denver plastered the glass with homemade signs in support of Kadri, and carried signs that read "stand with nile" and "support Kadri".
The hats were taken off the ice in Denver after MacKinnon scored his third goal.
MacKinnon is one of the best players in the league and makes big plays in crucial moments. We have great leadership on our team. Lots of guys have won before. Bozak said they knew there was time.
Bozak won the game in overtime to force Game 6.
They increased their desperation level. Landeskog said that they didn't get it done. It is not supposed to be easy.
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