Avalanche Win Game 5, Force Game 6

Colorado Defeats Blackhawks 3-1 to Stay Alive

Matt Duchene Scores Game-Winning Goal

The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals to force a Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night.

Matt Duchene scored the game-winning goal at 11:42 of the second period, giving the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Gabriel Landeskog and Erik Johnson also scored for Colorado, while Patrick Kane scored the lone goal for Chicago.

Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves in net for the Avalanche, while Corey Crawford made 24 saves for the Blackhawks.

The Avalanche outshot the Blackhawks 27-29 in the game.