The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild met in Game 1 of their Western Conference match-up last night it what is shaping up to be a fun series to watch. The Avs, making their first playoff appearance since 2009-10,ended up taking Game 1 in overtime partially thanks to some late-game heroics by defenseman Erik Johnson.
With less than two minutes to go in regulation, the Avs pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. With heavy pressure on in the offensive zone, the Wild got control of the puck and cleared it toward the empty net. As the puck trickled along the ice, Johnson raced after it and cleared it out of the goal crease with inches to spare before it crossed the goal line. It’s tough to tell if the puck would have actually gone in or if it would have hit the post, but Johnson wasn’t about to find out.
With Colorado still down by one and with an extra skater out on the ice, the team was able to rally and tie the game with less than :30 seconds remaining thanks to a Paul Stastny wrist shot. Stastny wrapped things up for the Avalanche about halfway through overtime with the game-winning goal. He finished the game with three points in 25 minutes of ice time. Johnson finished with an assist and an even rating in 30 minutes of ice time.
Check out the video below of Johnson’s incredible save.
