Avalanche Carry 3-0 Series Lead In WCF

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Pavel Francouz took J.T. Compher off the hook for a penalty with a key save on Connor McDavid. A few seconds later, Compher took the life out of Rogers Place — and put the Colorado Avalanche on the cusp of the Stanley Cup Finals. Compher came out of the penalty box to give Colorado the lead with 7:18 left and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Called for tripping Leon Draisaitl just three minutes after Ryan McLeod tied it for Edmonton, Compher raced out of the box, beat defenseman Evan Bouchard for control along the boards and scored between goalie Mike Smith’s legs. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Francouz made 27 saves. Francouz stepped in midway through the Colorado’s 8-6 victory in Game 1 when Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury, then made 24 saves Thursday night in a 4-0 win for his second career playoff shutout. In Game 3, he made the big stop on McDavid to keep it tied before Compher scored. McLeod tied it at 2 at 7:34 of the third, going the length of the ice and beating Francouz with a snap shot from the high slot. McDavid opened the scoring 38 seconds in for Edmonton. Smith made 39 saves.