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“A cool October night here in Denver… the air is crisp, the stands are full, and the season — for one team — is very much on the line.”
With the sun long set behind the Rockies and 51,561 fans bundled up against a light, misting rain, the Edmonton Oilers took the field at Ball Arena knowing exactly what had to be done. Down three games to two in the series, it was win… or go home. And tonight, they played like a team that planned to keep the lights on a little longer.
Shuhei Kunda, the left-hander, was simply marvelous. Seven innings. Four hits. One earned run. A steady heartbeat on a night that demanded it.
“You could almost hear the rain tapping his cap brim between pitches,” Vin would muse. “And all he did was keep making Colorado tap the ball softly.”
The Oilers struck first, and they struck loud. In the top of the first, a leadoff double, a triple into right-center, and before the Avalanche faithful could even settle in, the score was already 3–1. Then came the second inning. A one-out, hanging sinker from Alexis Castaneda… and Adrie Sijtsma sent it soaring into the night. A two-run homer.
“Oh, and you could just tell as soon as he hit it. He didn’t run. He admired. A moment like that, in October… you earn it.”
It was 5–1, and the tone was set.
Colorado, to their credit, never quit. Nathan MacKinnon tripled early and homered in the ninth to keep the Avalanche within shouting distance. And J. Sanchez — what a series he’s having — crushed his eighth home run in the eighth inning, trimming the deficit.
But every time Colorado got close, Edmonton found a way to lean back on its pitching. Romo held the line, Yamamoto — with a touch of drama — sealed it.
“If you’ve ever seen a heart skip a beat, you saw it there with two outs in the ninth,” Vin might say softly as MacKinnon’s drive sailed deep… and died at the track. “And the Oilers’ season lives to see another night.”
A final score of 6–4. Ten hits to seven. One team forcing a Game 7. One team heading north with hope.
Player of the Game: Shuhei Kunda — calm, precise, and brilliant when it mattered most.
Next Stop: Rogers Place. Tuesday night. A winner-take-all Game 7.
*“And as they say,” Vin would smile, pausing just long enough for the crowd noise to swell, “there’s nothing quite like October… when everything comes down to one game.”
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