Stars top Avs in OT, advance to West final
EDMONTON, Alberta — Joel Kiviranta completed a hat track 7:24 into overtime to give Dallas a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday in Game 7, sending the Stars to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2008.
Kiviranta moved away from the crease just before his quick shot on a pass from Andrej Sekera from behind the net. Kiviranta was playing only his third postseason game, on the ice for the series finale with Andrew Cogliano unfit to play, after the 24-year-old forward scored once in 11 regular-season games.
“Pretty unreal. This is what you dream about when you’re a young kid,“Kiviranta said. “I played the first Game 7 of my life. I didn’t know what to expect. … Maybe their D just lost me a little bit. They didn’t know who was picking me up. I tried to find a soft spot. It was a great pass.“
It was only the seventh Game 7 hat trick in NHL history, and the first since Wayne Gretzky for the Kings in the 1993 conference finals.
Dallas will play Sunday night against Vegas. There had never been an NHL Game 7 played at a neutral site before the two games.
The Avalanche, who also lost in Game 7 of last season’s conference semis, were trying to get to their first conference final since 2002, and forced Game 7 after being down 3-1. Thirdstring goalie Michael Hutchinson, a 30-year-old journeyman who had never started a playoff game before winning consecutive elimination games, but couldn’t make one more save after 31 on Friday.
Dallas, which lost in double overtime to eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in the seventh game of last year’s conference semi, won its third Game 7 played against Colorado. The Stars beat the Avs in the Western Conference finals in 1999 and 2000 to make it to the Stanley Cup final. The Stars won their only title in 1999.
Alexander Radulov scored two goals for Dallas, tying it at 3 with 8:32 left. That was only a couple of minutes after Radulov came out of the penalty box for an interference penalty.
But in a series when the two teams combined for 57 goals, and were tied four times in the finale, they scored 10 seconds apart late in regulation.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, CANUCKS 0
Shea Theodore finally solved Thatcher Demko with 6:08 remaining in the third period and Vegas edged Vancouver in Game 7 of the second-round series.
Theodore’s goal was the first in 138:40 for the Golden Knights against Demko, the rookie who had brought Vancouver back from a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Then Theodore scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the blue line that slipped through traffic and past Demko, who had made 98 consecutive saves.