Avalanche vs Oilers Game 1 score: Colorado holds off Edmonton for wild 8-6 victory to open conference final

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In a frenetic game that featured 14 goals, Colorado and Edmonton players came away with the same thought — defense can't be so optional.

J.T. Compher scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and two assists and the Avalanche held off the Oilers 8-6 on Tuesday night in a fast-paced, no-lead-felt-safe Game 1 of the Western Conference final.

Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher (37) scores a goal against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith (41) during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference finals Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Denver.  (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

The goal-after-goal-after-goal routine had Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky — the greatest scorer of all time — pleading on the TV broadcast for a little more "D." The game is tied for 10th highest-scoring playoff game in NHL history, according to the league.

"There’s lots to clean up," said Compher, whose team matched a franchise record for most goals in a playoff game. "We don’t want to play the game that we played tonight. We want to be tighter defensively."

2022 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL PREVIEW: COLORADO AVALANCHE HOST EDMONTON OILERS IN GAME 1

Even Colorado's four-goal lead in the second period hardly felt secure in a matchup between the two highest-scoring teams in the postseason — and the win wasn't in hand until Gabriel Landeskog's empty-net goal with 21.4 seconds remaining.

Not only were there goals galore, but both teams needed to use backup goaltenders in a frenzied second period: Mike Smith was pulled after giving up six goals and Darcy Kuemper left with an upper-body injury (coach Jared Bednar didn't have an update after the game).

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