The Tampa Bay Lightning have injected life into the Stanley Cup Final with a crucial 6-2 home win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3.

A Lightning loss would have given the Avalanche a near-insurmountable 3-0 series lead, but by getting the job done on their home ice, the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions pegged the margin back to 2-1, with Game 4 also at home.

After a crushing 7-0 loss to the Avalanche in Game 2, the visitors threatened to put the series to bed by opening the scoring through a Gabriel Landeskog goal eight minutes in, but the Lightning would respond this time.

Anthony Cirelli was the man to find the back of the net and tie the game later in the first period, before Ondrej Palat got on the end of a Steven Stamkos pass to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead heading into the first break.

The two sides traded early goals as Nicholas Paul put the home side up 3-1 briefly, before Landeskog's second kept it a one-goal game – and then the Lightning took over.

A seven-minute barrage saw Tampa Bay add three quick goals to Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Corey Perry, giving the hosts plenty of breathing room and allowing them to turn the third period into a scoreless grind to come out with the victory.

Speaking to ESPN after the win, Stamkos said his side has too much self-belief to listen to those who had them written off after a couple of tough games away from home.

"They can say whatever we want – we know what we have in our dressing room," he said.

"We knew coming back home that we play well in front of our fans, and it was a great comeback tonight.

"It's a tough place to play in Colorado – they have a great team, they come out strong, they come out fast. But like I said the other day, we can do that on home ice too.

"It's a series now, and we've got some work to do between now and next game, but we've got another game at home and we'll look to continue this game that we played tonight."

Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was not willing to overreact to the loss – his side's first road defeat of the playoffs so far, entering the contest 7-0 away from home.

"We're going to lose games," he said. "We've won every game on the road, so I guess we were kind of due for a tough night.

"It wasn't all bad – I thought we did a lot of good things. We controlled the play a lot, but every mistake we made they capitalised on, and that's how they play.

"They're a really, really good team, obviously – I don't have to say that – so we've got to be sharper."

Andre Burakovsky's status for Monday's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is uncertain after the Colorado Avalanche forward suffered an injury in Saturday's 7-0 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Burakovsky is being evaluated and will not travel with the team to Tampa but is expected to join the club in Florida on Monday. 

Burakovsky was injured in Game 2 after being hit on the hand by a Victor Hedman shot early in the second period. 

Before exiting, Burakovsky assisted on Colorado's first goal and scored one of his own just under 11 minutes later to help the Avs take an early 3-0 lead. He also scored the overtime winner in Game 1. 

This is the second time Burakovsky has been injured in the playoffs after he missed Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers with a leg injury sustained while blocking a shot in the series opener. 

After setting career highs with 22 goals and 39 assists during the regular season, Burakovsky has been playing on Colorado's second line in place of Nazem Kadri, who injured his right thumb in Game 3 of the Oilers series.

Kadri has not played since after undergoing surgery, but is travelling with the team and is considered day to day, according to Bednar. 

"We're hopeful we'll see him at some point," Bednar said. "But I'm not sure about Game 3 or Game 4." 

After winning Games 1 and 2 on home ice, Colorado are two victories away from securing their first Stanley Cup since 2001. 

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was still coming to terms with a franchise record loss after the two-time defending champions were drubbed 7-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Colorado Avalanche.

Three days on from a close-fought Game 1 loss, the Florida outfit were soundly smashed at Ball Arena as they capitulated to leave an arduous path back to a third consecutive title.

After an overtime clash before that indicated a tight postseason battle for hockey's biggest prize, the Lightning were no match for the Avs, suffering their largest ever playoff defeat.

"Am I shocked that we lost seven-zip?" Stamkos stated. "I mean, I don't think we saw that coming.

"We have a game plan, and it's trying to neutralise their speed and their forecheck. And we've gotten away from it a little bit at times, and it cost us."

Stamkos in particular said the team owed an apology to goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who suffered a torrid night as the Avs ran rampant.

"We left him out to dry tonight," he added. "He's been our backbone for years and years and years. We owe it to him to have a better game next game. By no means is this on him tonight."

This was just the fifth instance of the defending Stanley Cup champions falling 2-0 behind in a Finals series, with only the 1966 Detroit Red Wings recovering to take the title again.

Meanwhile, the 1980 New York Islanders are the sole team to have allowed 11 or more goals through two games and still won the Finals.

But with two games back home to restore parity, the Lightning are adamant that they are not out of the picture yet.

"It takes a great team to realise the mistakes that we've made," Stamkos added. "And I have full confidence in this group that we'll have a much better effort.

"Listen, people are going to be watching this game tonight and probably think the series is over. But we're a very resilient group. We were in this position last round.

"So, whether it's 1-0 or 7-0 or 10-0, it's a loss in the playoffs. We've got to man up as a team. Let's get back home in front of our fans, and let's see what we're made of."

Defenseman Victor Hedman added: "At the end of day, we lost the game, not the series."

The Colorado Avalanche took complete control of the Stanley Cup Finals with a sensational 7-0 win in Game 2 that coach Jared Bednar considered almost flawless.

The Avs had beaten the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime in the series opener, but there were no such fine margins on Saturday.

Colorado put seven past Andrei Vasilevskiy, marking the fourth time this postseason they have scored seven in a game. Only the Edmonton Oilers (six games in both 1984 and 1985) have topped that feat.

This was also just the third instance in Finals history of a team winning by seven or more goals while registering a shutout, following the 1919 Seattle Metropolitans' 7-0 Game 1 win over the Montreal Canadiens and the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins' clinching 8-0 Game 6 win over the Minnesota North Stars.

It was little surprise then that Bednar was left struggling to identify ways in which his dominant Avs team could improve.

"It was certainly as close to perfect of a game as you can get from your players," he said.

"Coming out of Game 1, we were dangerous offensively, but I thought there was another step for our group. We evaluated that, we showed them some things, and they did a nice job.

"And on the defensive side, we were way better tonight. It wasn't even close.

"I thought we made some big mistakes that led to goals against in Game 1. We got better in those areas, amongst others."

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper joined his team-mates in impressing, but he faced only 16 shots – the fewest the Lightning have generated in a playoff game this year.

"[We are] hungry on the defensive side of things, trying to win as many races as we can, as many battles as we can, getting above pucks and making it difficult," Bednar added.

"It's part of our identity and who we are. Our guys have been doing it all year, and they're continuing to do it. Tonight, they did it better than we usually do."

The Colorado Avalanche were betting favourites headed into the Stanley Cup Final against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 only strengthened their position.

Even at home, the Avs are not counting on Wednesday's win carrying over to Saturday's Game 2.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar indicated as much in the build-up to the clash at Ball Arena.

"I would say in this situation, I don't believe a lot in [momentum]," Bednar said. "Like, it's Stanley Cup Finals. We know we're going to see Tampa's best game. They'll be better than they were in Game 1."

The Avalanche got off to a hot start on Wednesday, holding leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but the Lightning weathered the storm and rallied to force overtime - a point not lost on Bednar.

"There are a lot of areas, for me, that we can be a lot better than we were in Game 1," the sixth-year coach said. "We approach it the same way we did in Game 1.

"I expect our guys to be energised and ready to go. It's an extra day's rest, they'll be the same way. It'll be about the detail in our game and how hard we can compete. The last part of that is the execution."

Despite the Lightning holding the advantage in playoff pedigree and experience, Bednar was proud of his young team for responding on hockey's biggest stage.

"Honestly, I feel like our team has kind of been there all along. I never felt that the moment was going to be too big for us, coming into this thing," Bednar said.

"Right from the finish of the Edmonton series, our guys, we told them to enjoy it for a couple of days, get away, but if you talk to any of our individuals, they'll say the same thing: 'Job's not done.'

"We've got a lot of work to do. It's going to be a tough series, and I feel like we've been focused on that. I don't think anyone's patting themselves on the back for being here. It's not the type of mentality we've had from day one of training camp."

The Lightning and coach Jon Cooper, meanwhile, are not panicking after dropping Game 1 and would be content to return to Tampa Bay with the series tied headed into Monday's Game 3.

"It's about winning the series, it's not about winning Game 1," Cooper said. "Yeah, would we like to win every single game? There's no question. But we've also started out on the road for all four series, so the fact that we've won one of them is kind of a bonus on our side. But it's about winning the series."

The Lightning are in familiar territory, needing to battle back for a series win. Tampa Bay dropped Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final before rallying to beat the Dallas Stars in six games.

This year's squad overcame Game 1 losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final.

Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar reflected on a thrilling Game 1 win of the Stanley Cup Final in front of his home fans, but said he is wary of the adjustments coming from the reigning back-to-back champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In a see-sawing contest, the Avalanche jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period, before two Lightning goals in under a minute levelled it at 3-3 halfway through the second period.

The third frame was a hard-fought, scoreless battle, setting up a next-goal-wins finish less than 90 seconds into overtime by Andre Burakovsky.

Makar, who has 22 points in 15 playoff games as a defenseman and spent a game-high 28 minutes on the ice in Wednesday's series opener, told ESPN that the atmosphere in the building was like nothing he had experienced.

"It's incredible," he said. "Obviously the fans tonight were insane – I didn't think they could up the level from the past few rounds, but they were able to do that. 

"It was definitely electric in that building, and it's incredible playing with a great group of guys in the Final like this."

While he was thrilled with the result, his attention quickly turned to the championship pedigree of the Lightning, and why the Avalanche need to be near-perfect to deny them a three-peat.

"Obviously great teams like them are going to find ways to exploit us defensively," he said.

"You look at their one goal where [Nikita] Kucherov goes around [Devon] Toews, and feeds [Ondrej] Palat backdoor.

"I mean I knew he was going backdoor the whole time, I just wasn't there, so overall it's about staying more mentally prepared and giving them a few less chances than they had."

He added: "They're a great team, they're going to come out with a different game plan, which I'm sure will be beneficial for them.

"We just have to be prepared for that, and obviously we're going to come up with a game plan with what they came at us with tonight. You have to adjust, and that's just the way the playoffs go. 

"In order to beat great teams you have to do it, and [Tampa Bay have] been successful in that in years prior, so hopefully we can limit those improvements they make game-to-game."

The Avalanche are now 13-2 this postseason – winners of six games in a row – and have comfortably been the most potent offensive side in their run to the Final. 

Averaging 4.6 goals per game, Colorado are well clear of the Pittsburgh Penguins (4.14) and the Edmonton Oilers (4.06), with another big gap to the fourth-placed Toronto Maple Leafs (3.43). The Lightning are eighth this postseason at 3.06.

Tampa Bay have instead been getting it done defensively, conceding just 2.5 goals per game, trailing only the Dallas Stars (2.14) who were eliminated in the first round. Crucially, the Avalanche have also excelled in their defensive end, conceding 2.87 per game.

When asked if the red-hot Avalanche have started to think about lifting the Stanley Cup, Makar said it is far too early for that.

"Not yet – I feel like, overall, this team has been so great at staying in the moment, especially success-wise, not looking too far ahead," he said.

"I feel if we start looking too far ahead then this is a team that's going to exploit those little mental lapses, like they did tonight.

"For us it's just staying mentally locked in on each game, and not focusing on the future, just focusing on what we can control in the present."

Andre Burakovsky called it a dream come true to score the overtime match-winner in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-3 home victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

It was a terrific start for the Avalanche, going up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes through goals to Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin.

Nicholas Paul pegged one back for the Lightning, but Artturi Lehkonen struck on the power play to close the first period, giving Colorado a 3-1 lead heading into the first break.

After a relatively even start to the second, the Lightning turned the game on its head with two goals in under a minute, courtesy of Ondrej Palat and Mikhail Sergachev.

It set up a tense third period, with neither team able to find a winner before the end of regulation, but Burakovsky was not willing to stick around all night, netting the golden-goal winner just 83 seconds into overtime to send the home fans into raptures.

Speaking to ESPN immediately after the win, Burakovsky said it was a special moment, and even more so to do it in front of the screaming Colorado faithful.

"It feels amazing," he said. "I think we really battled through this whole game.

"We had a bit of a mental breakdown in the second period, but I think we bounced back in the third – an awesome job by the boys.

"I don't think we were hard enough at pucks, we were not winning races in the second period, giving them too much room. In the third, we bounced back and really fought through it, doing all the right things.

"[Before overtime] we just said keep going like we played in the third, send pucks to the net and take the rebounds. We feel confident about our game, and I think that's exactly what we did.

"These fans are amazing – they've been amazing the entire year for us – this is great, this is a dream since I was a kid."

While Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was happy with the win, he stressed he expects a strong response from the Lightning.

"We're playing a really good team, and they’re not going to roll over and lay back," he said. "They're going to have to push back."

Lightning coach Jon Cooper – who led them to back-to-back Stanley Cups from the past two seasons – said he knows what it takes to get the job done, and his side did not bring it in Game 1.

"There’s some positive signs for us in this game – but the right team won the game, so give them credit for pulling it out," he said.

"I don't think by a country mile we gave them our best game. To beat a team like that, we need to have better in us."

When the Tampa Bay Lightning begin their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup championship on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, they will have the NHL's leading goalscorer from each of the last two playoffs on the ice as center Brayden Point is set to return from a lower-body injury.

"Pointer looks like he's a go," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said after Wednesday's morning skate in Denver.

Point, who was second on the Lightning with 28 goals during the regular season, has been out since getting hurt early in Game 7 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Point recorded two goals in the opening round after leading the NHL with 14 goals in each of the last two postseasons for the two-time defending champion Lightning.

His 60 points in 53 games over the past three playoffs rank second in the league behind teammate Nikita Kucherov, who has racked up 89 points in 65 contests.

Tampa Bay is looking to become the first team to win three straight Stanley Cup championships since the New York Islanders captured four titles in a row from 1979-83.

The Lightning are 12-5 this postseason after finishing as the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

Colorado is searching for its first title since 2000-01 after its 119 points this season led the Western Conference and set a franchise record. The top-seeded Avalanche are 12-2 in these playoffs.

Artturi Lehkonen helped the Colorado Avalanche secure a series sweep over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, scoring in overtime for a 6-5 win.

Lehkonen ultimately secured the 4-0 Western Conference finals win for the Avalanche in fortunate circumstances, left with a simple finish after his elevated stick helped the puck elude Oilers goaltender Mike Smith.

With a tightly contested game heading to OT, Cale Makar's shot from the face-off was picked up by Lehkonen with what was argued to be a high stick. The puck deflected off Smith and left the 26-year-old with a simple finish to win the game and series and following a review, the goal was allowed.

Despite the fortune that came with the eventual winning goal, the Finnish winger cited his team's ability to fight back a 3-1 deficit in the third period as equally important.

"Cale took the shot and I've got to say, it landed straight on my blade and I basically had an empty net in front of me," Lehkonen told TNT post-game.

"It was a great comeback win, for sure. We were talking during the second intermission that we just had to find our game and we could pull through this."

Mikko Rantanen stunningly put the Avalanche ahead with 5:14 remaining in regulation, in what was a four-goal period for the Western Conference's first seed.

After the Oilers let a 3-1 lead slip with their season on the line, Leon Draisatl and Connor McDavid combined to equalise, capitalising on Danell Nurse's defensive play to spring them into transition.

Advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2001, the Avalanche will now face the winner of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Nazem Kadri will be out for the rest of the series as his side moved one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, defatting the Edmonton Oilers 4-2

The Avalanche claimed an all-important 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference playoff after a frenetic third period, with J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen scoring in the final exchanges.

It was overshadowed by Evander Kane's hit on Kadri however, with the Avalanche's two-way threat cross-checked from behind, flying head-first into the boards.

Kane was given a five-minute major penalty for the hit but surprisingly was not ejected from the game. The Avalanche defended stoutly to secure the win, but Bednar confirmed post-game they will go without Kadri in securing the series.

"Yeah, he's out. He's out," Bednar said post-game. "He'll be out for the series at least, if not longer.

"I mean, the hit, it's the most dangerous play in hockey - puts him in head first from behind, eight feet from the boards. I'll leave it at that."

Connor McDavid had a clear opportunity to give the Oilers the 3-2 lead with 8:17 remaining and in the power play, shooting from just inside the hash marks in the left circle but a brilliant glove save from Pavel Francouz critically kept the score tied.

The Oilers then hit the post a minute later but racing out of the penalty box, J.T. Compher was able to spring the Avalanche into transition, scoring his fifth goal of the playoffs to give the Avalanche the lead instead.

Mikko Rantanen sealed the victory with under a minute remaining, forcing the loss of Oilers' possession before scoring an empty-net goal.

The Avalanche will have a chance to sweep the series on Tuesday, to face the winner of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.

Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft rued a critical three-goal second period after his side went 4-0 down to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday.

Nazem Kadri had three assists within the space of 2:04 as the Avalanche broke the game open and took a commanding 2-0 series lead, in a departure from Game 1's 14 goals and 84 shots.

The free-scoring Oilers were reduced to 24 shots for the night, with the two points leaders for this year's Stanley Cup playoffs in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl kept quiet by the Avalanche.

Despite the second period, Woodcroft believes there is still cause for encouragement as the series heads to Canada.

"I thought it was a really competitive first period," he said post-game. "I thought we laid it on the line, especially finding ourselves down short-handed six minutes or so into the first period.

"We pushed back, we generated some offence, and that little span in the second period really hurt us. It took the wind out of our sails and we weren't able to generate what we wanted to as the game wore on.

"I think we've had some chances – not as much as we'd like – but we're in the final four and the other team does some good stuff too. There's more to be had there. We can do a better job of shooting the puck and shooting through structure."

Kadri tied GM Joe Sakic's franchise record from 1996 for most assists in a period, setting up Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson in the space of 15 seconds, before providing the pass for Mikko Rantanen.

Nathan McKinnon scored his sixth goal of the playoffs late in the third period, moving to a team-high 16 points over the Avalanche's three series.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar asserted he was not overwhelmed as hide claimed an historic win on Tuesday, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their playoff series.

The Avalanche's win was the first playoff game in NHL history in which both teams allowed six or more goals, while using multiple goaltenders.

The opening game of the Western Conference final was played at an entertaining but frenetic pace, as both teams moved the puck with astounding fluidity.

According to Bednar, especially following the Oilers' high-scoring series win over the Calgary Flames, it was something his side anticipated and adapted well to.

"I didn’t feel helpless at all," Bednar said post-game. "I thought our guys did a nice job getting above pucks, shutting down the rush. The pace we expected no question, it's the fastest team we've played against, obviously a lot of talent.

"There's areas of our checking game that I really liked, there's a couple of other ones that I didn't that we'll look at and talk about.

"I thought we were doing a nice job on the offensive side of things, even in the third period when we had two breakaways, another great seam pass that we missed on. We were generating, we were shooting the puck, we were staying assertive, just have to make a few less errors on the other side of it."

Goals were expected between the two highest-scoring teams in this year's playoffs for the Stanley Cup, and the stars of the show did not disappoint.

Nathan MacKinnon claimed a goal and an assist for Colorado, while coming off his overtime winner in Game 7 against the Flames, Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists for the Oilers.

Nazem Kadri, Mikko Rantanen and Andrew Cogliano also scored for Colorado, but the result wasn't secured until Gabriel Landeskog's empty-net goal late with less than a minute to go in the third period.

Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon did not shy away from the reality facing his side in the Western Conference Finals – calling Edmonton Oilers poster boy Connor McDavid "the best".

To advance through to the Western Conference Finals, the Avalanche swept the Nashville Predators in the first round, and then handled the strong challenge of the St. Louis Blues to win the series 4-2.

For the Oilers, they were forced to go seven games against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, before making it look easier against the Calgary Flames, winning their second-round series 4-1.

MacKinnon is a star in his own right, seventh in the league in points per game (1.35), and the best player on the Western Conference's best team – but when asked about his side's plan to deal with reigning MVP McDavid, he said it would take more than one man.

"I'm not really thinking about [McDavid] a whole lot, but obviously I see that stuff," he said.

"I think he's the best, I've said it. I think he's been the best for a little bit now, and it's going to take a full team effort to stop him."

McDavid led the league in total points (123) and points per game (1.54), and has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team in four of his six seasons.

When he was asked about his side's plan to deal with MacKinnon, he opted to not mention his opposing star by name.

"They're a good team over there," he said. "I've learned that over the last couple of years. 

"This year is no different. They've got some real good players, and they're really good all around."

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was willing to dive a little deeper into what he thinks of the two stars.

"There's a lot of similarities between MacKinnon and McDavid," he said. "But at the same time, they're very different playing styles. 

"McDavid's very good off the rush, and very fast, and he's got the quick steps right at the beginning. 

"They're both such electric players, and McDavid's been the driving force for them as well as their other top guys.

"He'll be a good test, but we're all excited."

The man in charge of keeping McDavid off the scoresheet – Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper – said he was also looking forward to testing himself against the best.

"It's a fun challenge for sure," he said. "[McDavid] is an electric, dynamic player. 

"He's creating every time he's on ice. Like [Makar] said, there's similarities between their games, but at the same time, they're different players. It's a fun challenge. 

"You want to face the best players in the world, and we're looking forward to it."

Colorado Avalanche players were thrilled for center Darren Helm after he scored the series-winning goal in his side's 3-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues with just five seconds remaining in regulation.

With their Game 6 triumph away from home, the Avalanche secured a 4-2 series win, and will now play the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals, with the winner earning a chance at the Stanley Cup.

It was far from a comfortable win for the Avalanche, needing to come from behind twice.

Firstly, after Justin Faulk gave the Blues a lead in the first period, Colorado's J.T. Compher equalised five minutes into the second frame.

That tie would last less than five minutes before Jordan Kyrou got on the end of a build-up by Andre Burakovsky and Josh Manson, making it 2-1 for the home side, and that score would hold through the second period and the first 10 minutes of the last.

After a penalty gave the Avalanche a power play, Compher capitalised with his second goal of the game, tying things up with just under 10 minutes to play.

With both teams pushing for a late winner, it would be the away side to produce the breakthrough, as Helm found his way past Blues goaltender Ville Husso in the dying seconds to deliver the series win to the Avalanche.

Speaking to post-game media, Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog said it was a joy to see Helm be the hero, scoring his first goal of the postseason when his team needed it most.

"There's no other guy that deserves it as much as he does," he said. 

"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."

Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper shared similar sentiments, calling it "a super-clutch goal".

He added: "It's always fun to see someone like Darren, who plays the game so hard, (but) always doesn't get rewarded with the points – to come up with a big goal like that is really special."

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said he could tell from the jump his side was up for the challenge, and that there is still plenty of work to do.

"From the drop of the puck, we were ready to go," he said. "You could tell the belief was there."

"We're only halfway to our goal... we're just getting started."

The Blues were left licking their wounds, convinced they side were good enough, but just failed the test.

"We feel like we're a good team and we let that series slip," Blues center Brayden Schenn said.

St. Louis coach Craig Berube added: "It's tough, a tough way to end it. That's the way it goes. Our guys battle hard."

Game-winner Tyler Bozak said the St. Louis Blues were not ready to go on holidays after they pulled off a stunning 5-4 comeback in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche to keep their season alive.

With the win, the Blues still trail 3-2 in the series, but they earned a chance to head home to St. Louis for Game 6

The Avalanche looked all set to move on to the next round after a pair of first period goals to Nathan MacKinnon, and a second-round strike from Gabriel Landeskog had them up 3-0 at the halfway point.

Instead of lying down, the Blues fought back in front of the raucous Avalanche crowd, with Vladimir Tarasenko pegging one back to make it 3-1 at the end of the second period.

The Avalanche were able to hold things together for the first nine minutes of the last period, until the Blues' pressure started to pay off, with Robert Thomas trimming the margin to 3-2.

Jordan Kyrou would have thought his goal would send the game to overtime as he made it 3-3 with less than five minutes to play, but the Avalanche answered straight back as MacKinnon finished off his hat-trick with under three minutes on the clock.

But there would be another twist to the tale, as Thomas was able to force home his second goal, the equaliser, with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.

Overtime only lasted 3:38 before Bozak silenced the home fans with the golden goal to keep the Blues' Stanley Cup dreams alive.

Speaking to post-game media after scoring the winner, Bozak said his side was not ready for things to end this way.

"Just a resilient group of guys," he said. "[We] got down, [but] didn't want the season to be over.

"[We] fought hard and got some big goals late. I just got a little bounce up top and saw a lane to the net. 

"In overtime, there's definitely no such thing as a bad shot. I just tried to get it through on the traffic – all I know is that it went in, and that's all that matters."

Blues coach Craig Berube highlighted the gutsy effort to come from behind twice.

"We battle back, and then we give up that goal," he said. "It could have been deflating, but our guys have a lot of guts.

"Guys battled and kept battling. That's really what it boils down to. 

"We didn't get off to the start we wanted, being down quick. I thought the second half of the second period we started to come with our game.

"Getting to the goal line, winning battles down there. We went north. That's what it boils down to."

Thomas had not scored in any of the Blues' first 10 playoff games, but said it was nice to break the drought.

"Better late than never, I guess," he said.

"You've got nothing to lose – you might as well throw it all out there. That was the mindset."