Facing elimination, the Minnesota Wild once again had control until they didn't.
Trailing 3-1 in the series, the Wild built a three-goal first-period lead that ultimately eroded with the Colorado Avalanche scoring four straight goals, including two in the final four minutes of regulation. Brett Kulak's overtime goal capped the rally, condemning the Wild to the offseason with a 4-3 loss Wednesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.
"I think everyone feels empty right now," Wild forward Mats Zuccarello told reporters. "It wasn't the finish we wanted. We knew it'd be a tough series. ... It's hard to explain after a game like that."
For much of the series, the Wild found ways to get within reach of the Avalanche before losing control.
In Game 1, they came back from a three-goal deficit to take a 5-4 lead before the Avs scored three straight goals en route to a 9-6 win.
Game 2 saw the Wild take five penalties, only for the Avs to score two power-play goals before an empty-net goal sent them to a 5-2 win.
After handing the Avalanche their first playoff loss with a commanding 5-1 win in Game 3, the Wild rallied to tie the score midway through the third period of Game 4 but then allowed three straight goals in a 5-2 loss.
Then came Wednesday night. According to Natural Stat Trick's metrics, the Wild jumped to a 3-0 lead after a first period in which they posted just a 47.2% shot-share. The Wild did not dominate possession, but still were able to force Avalanche coach Jared Bednar to remove Mackenzie Blackwood after allowing three goals on 13 shots.
Two of the Wild's goals were scored by trade-deadline acquisition Nick Foligno, and Marcus Johansson scored the other 34 seconds into the game.
Scott Wedgewood, who started the first three games of the series, relieved Blackwood at the start of the second period and faced only seven shots over the 43:09 he was on the ice.
Colorado limited Minnesota's shots because of how much it controlled possession. The Avs had a 78.38% shot-share in the second period and a 67.57% shot-share in third period in 5-on-5 play.
"I think both teams put a real competitive effort on the ice," Wild coach John Hynes said when asked about the second and third periods. "They had stretches where they pushed. We had stretches where we pushed. I think that's what you expect when two types of teams go at it."
Kelly scored the Avs' first goal with nine minutes remaining in the second. Jack Drury made it 3-2 with 3:33 left in the third before Bednar pulled Wedgewood to create a 6-on-5.
That's when Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-tying goal with 1:23 remaining to send the series into its first overtime. Kulak won it just less than four minutes into the frame.
The Avalanche largely controlled possession in overtime with an 80% shot-share while finishing the game with a 67.5% shot-share in 5-on-5 play.
As for the Wild, they are now 2-8 in their past 10 elimination games.
Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, who lost in Game 7 of the second round twice while playing for the Vancouver Canucks, said of Wednesday's loss, "This one stings."
"Love the guys, love the coaching staff, the whole organization," he said. "It's one of things where we felt like we had a really good team."