Thursday's NHL: Francouz, Kadri lead Avs to 2-0 series lead; Flames' Sutter named top coach

Denver — Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The Avalanche broke through in the second after a scoreless opening period that featured something rarely seen so far in this series – defense. Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson scored 15 seconds apart to get things going in the second, with Mikko Rantanen adding another on Kadri’s third assist.

Nathan MacKinnon scored late in the third.

Game 3 is Saturday in Edmonton. The Avalanche are 5-0 on the road so far in these playoffs, and 15-4 in a best-of-seven series when taking a 2-0 lead.

This game was a departure from a high-scoring Game 1 in which there were 14 goals and 84 shots.

Francouz grew stronger with every save he made as he stepped in for Darcy Kuemper, who left Game 1 with an upper-body injury. Francouz was serenaded with chants of “Frankie! Frankie!” from the crowd.

Colorado held Edmonton’s big three of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane to seven shots. Draisaitl saw his streak of nine straight games with at least one assist come to an end.

Mike Smith allowed four goals on 40 shots. This after the 40-year-old Smith was pulled in Game 1 after surrendering six goals.

To slow down the speedy MacKinnon, Edmonton shadowed him virtually at all times. The relentless pressure included a trip by Duncan Keith after the whistle. It didn’t draw a penalty but drew plenty of boos from the crowd. MacKinnon also got smacked in the face on a play.

The heavy focus on MacKinnon opened the door for others like Kadri, who was originally credited with the first goal at 3:58 of the second before it was ruled that Lehkonen tipped the puck.

Kadri tied the franchise record for assists in a period. It was a mark set by Quebec’s Risto Siltanen in 1987 and matched in 1996 by Avalanche Hall of Fame forward turned GM Joe Sakic.

Colorado and Edmonton turned in about as entertaining first period as possible for no goals scored. It included Edmonton weathering Colorado’s 5-on-3 advantage.

There was also a play where Smith used his helmet to redirect a puck out of the air.

Francouz got into the nifty save act, too, including one when he ventured well out of his crease. He was able to stop Cody Ceci’s liner.

Colorado’s two goals over a 15-second span was the fifth-fastest in a playoff game in franchise history, according to NHL Stats. The fastest was seven seconds by Adam Foote and Adam Deadmarsh during the 1996 conference final against Detroit.

Sutter named top coach

New York — Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames has won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.

The league announced the honor Thursday night prior to Game 2 of the Western Conference final between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.

Interim Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette and Gerard Gallant of the New York Rangers were the other finalists. Brunette finished second in voting by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

The 63-year-old Sutter coached the Flames to a Pacific Division championship with the sixth-most points in the league. Calgary reached the second round of the playoffs before losing a Battle of Alberta series to the rival Oilers.

It’s Sutter’s first Jack Adams in 20 seasons as an NHL head coach. He coached the Los Angeles Kings to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.

Kid Line picks up Rangers 

The New York Rangers’ third line has been making valuable contributions all season, and the trio’s success in Game 1 against Tampa Bay is a big reason the team finally has a lead during a postseason series.

Dubbed ‘The Kid Line’ because of their ages – Filip Chytil is 22, Alexis Lafrenière 20 and Kaapo Kakko 21 – the three combined for five points in New York’s 6-2 victory Wednesday night in the series opener. Now they’ll look to keep it going when the Rangers host the Lightning in Game 2 on Friday night.

“They’ve had a huge impact since the playoffs started,” Rangers coach and former Red Wings forward Gerard Gallant said Thursday. “We broke them up a few times because of different matchups but overall they’ve been outstanding. … They got inside, they scored some nice goals, they made some good plays and and they’re attacking, They’re a confident bunch of kids right now and we need that to continue.”

Lafrenière has nine points (two goals, seven assists), Chytil eight (seven goals, one assist) and Kakko four (one goal, three assists) this postseason. In the last three games – all Rangers wins – Chytil has five goals, and Lafrenière and Kakko each have two assists.

“I think down low in their end we’re a good line,” Lafrenière said. “We got to get out of our zone as quick as we can and try to spend as much time in their end because that’s where we’re comfortable and we’re at our best. I think we’re playing as a unit and using our skills.”

Chytil, selected in the first round of the 2017 NHL draft, made the team out of training camp that fall before being sent down to the AHL for several months. He is the third-longest tenured player on the team behind Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, had seven goals and three assists during the season. Lafrenière, the No. 1 overall selection in 2020, had 19 goals and 12 assists this season.

Chytil had eight goals in 67 games during the regular season and has nearly matched that in 15 playoff games, including two goals in Game 1 of this series.

“He’s starting to get a little more comfortable and his skating is unbelievable,” Lafrenière said. “He can shoot, so for me it’s just try to find him on the ice and give him the puck in good spots. I think he really stepped up his game in the last couple of weeks so it’s really good to see.”

The youngsters have helped the Rangers move ahead in a series for the first time. In the first two rounds, New York never led until advancing with wins in Game 7 each time. They trailed Pittsburgh 1-0 and 3-1, and were behind Carolina 2-0 and 3-2.

That doesn’t matter to the Rangers. They plan on keeping their approach the same whether they’re trailing or leading.

“We take it one game at a time,” Gallant said. “We know we won last night and we’re up 1-0 in the series, but it doesn’t make a difference. … You just worry about the next game. You move on, you play the game and get ready for the next one.”

Tampa Bay came out a little sluggish to start the series after having last played nine days earlier when they finished their second-round sweep of Florida on May 23. Over the last three postseasons in which they’ve won 10 straight series, including back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, the Lightning are 17-0 in games following a loss.

“It’s getting back to the strength of our game, being a little bit simpler and getting pucks behind then and getting to work in the o-zone,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “We’ll be anxious for Game 2.”

The Lightning have been in this position just last month when they lost 5-0 in Game 1 of the first round against Toronto. They won two of the next four games and trailed 3-2 before winning that series and sweeping Florida.

“It’s Game 1, we’ve been through this before,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve won series where we’ve lost the first game and we’ve won series where we’ve won the first game.”

The Rangers also expect a much stronger effort from the Lightning on Friday night.

“They’re going to be ready to play,” Gallant said. “You don’t win two Stanley Cups and not be ready to play at this time of year. We expect a pushback, but we’re going to play our game again, we’re going to play the best we can and worry about playing our game.”