Avs win Game 3, push Oilers to brink in Western Conference Final

EDMONTON — Evan Bouchard's bullet shot on a power play with under eight minutes to go in regulation clanked off Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz's right post.

Eleven seconds later, the Oilers defenceman was picking himself up off the ice, outmuscled by J.T. Compher at Edmonton's blue line after the Colorado centre exited the penalty box before sneaking an innocent-looking shot through Mike Smith's pads.

The Oilers were close Saturday night — a lot closer than they've been all series.

They're also now on the brink of elimination.

Compher scored with 7:18 left in the third period as Colorado defeated Edmonton 4-2 to take a commanding 3-0 stranglehold on the NHL's Western Conference final.

"A game of inches ... it showed there," said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who opened the scoring 38 seconds into the first inside a frothing Rogers Place. "If that's an inch on the other side for (Bouchard) it's in.

"Not a great situation, but not over."

Compher's terrific individual effort for his fifth goal of the playoffs, which have all come in the last four games, has Colorado one victory from the franchise's first Stanley Cup final berth since winning its second title in 2001.

"I didn't see it go in," he said of the winner. "I thought it was in (Smith's) pads the way he was moving.

"It took me a second."

Valeri Nichushkin, with two, and Mikko Rantanen, into an empty net, had the other goals for Colorado. Devon Toews added two assists.

Francouz, who made his second straight start after picking up a 4-0 shutout Thursday in place of the injured Darcy Kuemper, stopped 27 shots.

Ryan McLeod provided the rest of the offence for Edmonton, which will look to extend its first trip to the conference final since 2006 on Monday.

"Every