The fun may be over before it already began. What started out as an entertaining and compelling series has devolved into what it was supposed to be from the beginning - a better team dismantling an inferior team.

The Colorado Avalanche leads the Western Conference Finals 3-0 and can close out the series tonight against a shorthanded Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers will be without the services of Evander Kane who was suspended for his boarding of Nazem Kadri in game three. Kane was given and five-minute major and Kadri left the game injured and did not return.

With Leon Draisatl and Darnell Nurse already hobbling it's going to be a tough test for the Oilers' depth and one, I don't think they will be able to overcome.

Today we learned Kadri had surgery on his thumb and is unofficially done for the rest of the playoffs.

Avalanche star, Nazem Kadri had surgery to repair an injured thumb sustained in the hit by Evander Kane early in game 3. Kadri is unlikely to be available for the remainder of the postseason, but isn’t being ruled out officially.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 6, 2022

For the 'Avs, their depth has been tested from the start with the loss of Sam Girard (sternum) in the prior series and the loss of Darcy Kuemper in game one.

Fortunately, depth is proving to be a strength for Colorado. Bowen Byram has been fantastic in an elevated role and Pavel Francouz has been nothing short of spectacular. I'm sure whoever is asked to step up in place of Kadri will put in Yeoman's work. That's a testament to this club and head coach Jared Bednar.

Francouz improved to 5-0 in these playoffs and has allowed just two goals in the last two games including an impressive shutout in game two. His save percentage in this series is a whopping .962.

Colorado is 11-2 so far in the playoffs with an impressive 6-0 record on the road. They have been so dominant away from Ball Arena that it's scary. As a road team, they are outscoring the home team by a 2 to 1 margin (30-15) and the power play is clicking at nearly 38% (37.5%). That's unheard of in the NHL Playoffs.

Now the Avalanche can close out the series another series on the road, It would become the third consecutive time during this run that they end another team's season in its own building.

Let's hope Colorado finishes this thing tonight and gets healthy for the Stanley Cup Final.

Lastly, Evander Kane blew a chance at a fantastic redemption story. His career looked over and the Oilers took a chance on him and embraced him. He's been outstanding for them and his 13 playoff goals in 15 games have been nothing short of awesome. But, come on. What happened? His offensive game and mental game have been a total disaster in this series.

In games three and four, Kane has no points, is a minus-4, and has nine PIMs. He's repeatedly making questionable decisions in an attempt to get under the 'Avs skin. It hasn't worked and now he's suspended for an elimination game. Not a good look.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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