ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Colorado Avalanche flexed. But what was most impressive about their display of muscle on Monday against the Minnesota Wild is that the guys who did the heaviest lifting in the third period were not the stars.

Fourth-line winger Parker Kelly, a 21-goal scorer during the National Hockey League’s regular season, scored from Jack Drury’s determined setup to break a tie at 11:32 of the third period and send the Avalanche to a 5-2 victory that moved the Stanley Cup favourites within one win of advancing to the Western Conference Final.

After letting Minnesota into the second-round series on Saturday, when the Wild cut a 2-0 series deficit in half with their own 5-2 win, Colorado absolutely dominated the first half of Monday’s game and, critically, that game-deciding minutes that followed Nico Sturm’s tying goal for Minnesota at 9:15 of the third period.

In a five-minute span, the Avalanche attempted 14 shots, put six pucks on Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt, registered four hits and generally didn’t let Minnesota out of its end.

Colorado defenceman Josh Manson got away (sort of) with butt-ending Minnesota centre Michael McCarron in the face, but the Wild were floored by the Avalanche’s punch to the chops.

Backup goalie Mackenzie Blackwood started for Colorado for the first time in nearly a month and made 19 saves. Depth scorer Ross Colton also beat Wallstedt in the third period. And superstar Nathan MacKinnon, after taking a puck in the face at the end of the second period, played seven minutes in the third and scored an empty-netter.

This is what a Stanley Cup contender looks like.

“For me, the biggest change from last game to this game is we were a more determined group,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.........

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