ST. LOUIS — The Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 6 of the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs Friday night at the Enterprise Center.
Darren Helm scored with 5.6 seconds left, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 17 shots as the Avalanche finished off their second-round series with a win over the Blues.
J.T. Compher scored twice for Colorado, which advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2002. The Avalanche had been eliminated in the second round each of the past three years.
Colorado opens the series against Edmonton on Tuesday night in Denver. Jordan Kyrou and Justin Faulk scored for St. Louis. and Ville Husso made 36 saves. On the winning goal, Helm scored off a drive from the faceoff circle.
The Blues needed a victory to force a Game 7. Friday’s loss wraps up their season.
Wayne Gretzky attended the contest. Gretzky, who played 18 games for the Blues in the 1995-96 season, has a house in St. Louis. He drew a huge ovation from the crowd.