The Colorado Avalanche finally figured out how to put the puck behind Ilya Bryzgalov Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to prevent them from losing game 3 to fall behind in the best-of-seven series 3 games to 0. The Mighty Ducks got four goals from Joffrey Lupul including the game winner in overtime to edge the Avs 4-3. Dustin Penner added 3 assists for Anaheim.
Colorado didn't score their first goal in the series until there were 26 seconds left in the first period. Dan Hinote tapped the puck behind Bryzgalov and gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. The goal ended the Anaheim rookie's shutout streak at 249:15, the second longest in playoff history behind Montreal's George Hainsworth who had 270:08 back in 1930.
Lupul's first goal of the game tied the score at the 9:02 mark of the second period. The teams were deadlocked 1-1 at the second intermission.
After Jim Dowd gave the Avs a 2-1 lead, Lupul scored twice within a 1:46 span to give Anaheim its first lead of the game at 3-2. With the Avs backs against the wall, veteran defenseman Rob Blake tied the game on a slap shot with just 6:25 left on the clock.
Both teams had power play opportunities in overtime but neither team could convert. Finally, Anaheim's Dustin Penner stole the puck from Patrice Brisbois and passed to Lupul between the circles. Lupul put his fourth puck behind Jose Theodore to end the contest 16:30 into overtime.
A stunned crowd at the Pepsi Center in Denver saw the Avalanche's six game winning streak in overtime come to a dramatic end.
The Avalanche now face an uphill climb to advance to the third round of the playoffs. Only twice in NHL history has a team overcome a 3-0 deficit to capture a playoff series: the Toronto Maple Leafs of 1942 and the 1975 New York Islanders.
Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday at 10 PM ET in Colorado.
