AVALANCHE PROGRESS TO WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS WITH THE HELP OF DARREN HELM’S LAST SECOND GOAL.

Richard BoadiMay 28, 2022

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Colorado last advanced to the Western Conference finals in 2002.

The Colorado Avalanche have advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years after veteran center Darren Helm scored a crowd-deafening goal with just 5.6 seconds left in regulation, eliminating the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs’ second-round series.

Helm’s slap shot from the circle made it through a sea of players before hitting the back of the net with just seconds left in the third period to clinch the series with a 3-2 victory and an unfamiliar place in the conference finals.

“We had three guys going hard to the net,” Helm said of the game-winner. “I was just kind of trailing. The pass bounced off the side wall. I just wanted to get the puck on the net, and it found its way.”

“There’s no other guy that deserves it as much as he does,” Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog added. “You talk about his work ethic, but he’s the guy that comes to the rink with a smile on his face, gets along with everybody.”

It was a gritty performance by both teams, but Blues goaltender Ville Husso was kept busy by the Avs, making 36 stops on 39 shots. J.T. Compher scored twice while Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves for Colorado.

Justin Faulk and Jordan Kyrpu scored for the Blues.

“Obviously, the game — we had a chance to take it,” Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly said after the game. “I thought [Husso] gave us a chance, he made some huge stops, gave us a chance all game. I thought we started a little slow, which hurt us. That was kind of the feeling that we had all series at home. We didn’t play the way we needed to here, which made it difficult to win. Lost every game at home here … just very disappointing.”

Colorado will now face the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday. The Avs advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2002. The Avalanche had been eliminated in the second round each of the past three years.