In Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference Finals, the Edmonton Oilers dropped a tightly contested overtime decision to the Colorado Avalanche, with the visitors edging ahead by a final score of six to five. The overtime period decided the fate of the game and sent Colorado to a decisive lead in the series, extending the thrill of playoff hockey that night.
The winning strike came from Artturi Lehkonen, delivering the late heroics that sealed the outcome. Teammates Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each contributed a scoring tally, showcasing Colorado’s depth and relentless offensive pressure. In contrast, Valery Nichushkin, the Russian forward, did not make a discernible impact on the scoreboard, though his presence on the ice helped shape several high-danger chances and sustained Colorado’s momentum throughout the game.
On the Oilers side, Zach Hyman recorded a multi-goal performance, delivering two goals that gave his team several critical moments of parity in the contest. Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins joined him on the scoresheet with goals that highlighted Edmonton’s resiliency, while Zach Kassian also found the back of the net, adding to a back-and-forth scoring battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats well into the late stages of regulation and into overtime.
The result left the series standing at four games to zero, with Colorado closing in on a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche stood poised to meet the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round, depending on the outcomes of the remaining playoff matchups. The narrative from this game underscored how crucial every shift can be in the postseason and how the momentum of a series can hinge on a single moment of brilliance in overtime.
When the final horn sounded, the scoreboard told a dramatic tale: Edmonton 5, Colorado 6 after an overtime period that decided the winner. The official scoring sequence reflected the flow of the game, with early exchanges setting the tone, several lead changes punctuating the middle frame, and a dramatic finish that underscored the high stakes of the Western Conference Finals. The chronological goal log highlighted the progression from a 1–0 deficit to a lively 5–4 Oilers advantage before the decider arrived and Lehkonen found the winner on assists from Makar and Helmet, tallying the decisive strike just after the sixty-minute mark and sealing the outcome for Colorado. The overall rhythm of the game demonstrated the potency of both teams’ offenses and the disciplined, physical play that playoff hockey demands, with several players from each side contributing to a memorable, high-intensity contest for the ages.
Earlier in the night, it was noted that Nikita Kucherov, the standout Russian forward for Tampa Bay, continued to add to his impressive scoring totals for the 2021/22 season, placing him among the league’s top scorers. His presence on the ice was a reminder of the broader context of the league’s competitive landscape, where veteran performance and timely scoring can influence playoff races and championship narratives across the league. This element of the broader NHL context added another layer of intrigue to a game that was already rich with intrigue, strategy, and the raw emotion that accompanies postseason hockey performances.