Avalanche one win from title

The Colorado Avalanche are on the brink of their first Stanley Cup title since 2001, thanks to Nazem Kadri’s overtime goal.

Even if the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning don’t believe it should have counted.

Kadri scored at 12:02 of the extra period to give Colorado a 3-2 victory in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa yesterday and move the Avalanche within a win of their first championship in over two decades.

Without specifically saying Tampa Bay felt Colorado had too many men on the ice for the winning goal, Lightning coach Jon Cooper suggested the goal should not have been allowed.

‘‘We’re all in this together. Players, coaches, refs, everybody. But this one is going to sting much more than others,’’ Cooper said.

‘‘It’s going to be hard for me to speak. You’re going to see what I mean when you see the winning goal,’’ Cooper added. ‘‘And my heart breaks for the players. Because we probably still should be playing.’’

The NHL released a statement saying the penalty is a judgment call that can be made by the on-ice officials. Each of the four officials said they did not see a too many men on the ice situation on the winning play. The call is not subject to video review.

Back in the lineup after being sidelined since June 4 with a thumb injury, Kadri skated in on Andrei Vasilevskiy and slipped a shot under the goaltender’s right arm to give Colorado a 3-1 series lead.

‘‘That was a huge win. A resilient win,’’ said Kadri, who had been sidelined since being injured during Game 3 of the Western Conference final against Edmonton.

‘‘I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,’’ the Colorado center added. ‘‘I figured it was time to join the party.’’