PAVEL FRANCOUZ

Colorado, Chicago and Pittsburgh all made key moves ahead of the NHL draft with the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche making a deal to shore up their goaltending situation and the Penguins ensuring a long-time defenseman was sticking around.

The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Darcy Kuemper, after rarely being tested in a 7-0 win in Game 2 Saturday night that put the Avalanche up 2-0 in the series, was pulled midway through the second after giving up five goals on 22 shots. Kuemper left Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against Edmonton with an upper-body injury and was replaced by Pavel Francouz, who was in net for a four-game sweep over the Oilers. The end for Kuemper came when Tampa Bay tough guy Pat Maroon made it 5-2 with an in-close backhander 11:15 into the second. The goal came after Colorado defenseman Josh Manson made an errant pass from behind the net. Despite Kuemper posting an 8-3 mark in the playoffs this year, there was immediate speculations about which goalie would start Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Colorado not only failed to take a stranglehold in the Stanley Cup Final after a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 3 but also wound up with goaltending questions.

Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Colorado Avalanche are expected to stick with goaltender Darcy Kuemper in goal for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Avalanche Oilers Hockey Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher came out of the penalty box to give Colorado the lead with 7:18 left and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers' 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Pavel Francouz made 27 saves. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton, with Colorado a game away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final. Only four NHL teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.

Nathan MacKinnon scored late in the third. This game was a departure from a high-scoring Game 1 in which there were 14 goals and 84 shots. Francouz grew stronger with every save he made as he stepped in for Darcy Kuemper, who left Game 1 with an upper-body injury. To slow down the speedy MacKinnon, Edmonton shadowed him virtually at all times. Colorado and Edmonton turned in about as entertaining first period as possible for no goals scored.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 7:58 left, and the Colorado Avalanche became the first team to advance to the second round Monday night by finishing a sweep of the Nashville Predators 5-3 Monday night.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

The Avs had a couple missed opportunities once Nashville pulled goalie Connor Ingram with more than 4 minutes remaining. KUEMPER HURTThe Avalanche goalie was hurt with 56.6 seconds left in the first period when Johansen's stick caught him through the mask. ROOKIE GOALIEIngram became the first rookie in Nashville history to start a playoff game in Game 2’s overtime loss on Thursday night. His 49 saves tied for most by a goalie in his first postseason start in the last 10 years and tied for the fourth-most saves by a Predators goalie in franchise history in the playoffs. Ingram stopped 79 of 83 shots faced over the first two games of this series after coming off the bench.

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice in the second period, and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 for a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.

Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper yanked his mask off and fell to the ice holding his head after being struck by a stick Saturday.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)DENVER — (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored, Pavel Francouz made 23 saves for his third career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Monday night to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 16 games. It was the seventh straight victory overall for the Avalanche, who tied the 1976 Boston Bruins for the fifth-longest home winning streak in NHL history. An empty-net goal by Colorado in the final moments was waved off for offside. NOTES: Blackhawks G Kevin Lankinen was placed on injured reserve with a hand injury sustained in Saturday’s overtime loss against Minnesota. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored, Pavel Francouz made 23 saves for his third career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 16 games.

Some of the NHL's top teams got a head start on the trade deadline by making moves.

The Colorado Avalanche have acquired goaltender Devan Dubynk from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft.

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.