It came down to one final faceoff, the last battle in a grueling series full of them. Joe Sakic versus Mikko Koivu, 21.7 seconds left, with the opportunity to advance to the second round of the playoffs on the line.

Sakic won it. So did the Avalanche. Bring on the next foe.

— Denver Post

Jose Theodore was very, very good in what I saw of this series, and if he's come to play, Colorado could be hard to beat. They upgraded at defence and forward at the deadline, and played much of the season with some pretty significant injuries.

At full strength, this is a tough lineup.

For Minnesota, the injuries on the blueline were just too much to overcome (not to mention Gaborik's disappearing act).

The other three Western Conference series can all end Sunday, and if the teams up 3-2 all close things out, it'll be a Red Wings-Avalanche and Sharks-Stars second round.

The thing is, both Detroit and San Jose are going to have to win Game 6 on the road to make that happen. Montreal-Boston's already headed to Game 7 on Monday, and my guess is we'll see one or two series go the distance out West.
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