DENVER – Growing up in Stony Plain, west of Edmonton, Brett Kulak had a farm kid’s pragmatism about what might allow him to become a professional hockey player. But he still dreamed big.
“For being a defenceman, you wanted to be that guy who shuts it down, plays big minutes, always playing against top offensive lines and giving them nothing,” the 32-year-old recalled late Wednesday. “So that was kind of always the primary focus of what you wanted. But you also… you dream of being kind of the hero in the big moments. In overtime, getting the puck on your stick. I think that’s just kind of the fun of being a kid growing up with big, big dreams of playing in the NHL and winning Stanley Cups.”
A fourth-round pick of the Calgary Flames, Kulak evolved into the defenceman he envisioned. With stops in Montreal and Edmonton, where he went to the last two Stanley Cup Finals before losing with the Oilers, before getting traded twice this season, Kulak has built a 663-game National Hockey League career by essentially not getting noticed — by playing solid, reliable defence in the middle of the lineup
— while others got more glorious roles.
He probably never dreamed of doing what he did Wednesday when everyone was watching.
Kulak joined the Colorado Avalanche attack in overtime after his team had surged back from a three-goal deficit, found space across the slot from Martin Necas and then one-timed his teammate’s pass into the Minnesota Wild net to give his team a place in the Western Conference Final.
It was Kulak’s fourth playoff goal in 107 post-season games, and ended one of the wildest contests of this Stanley Cup tournament.
“You always like to dream about it,” Kulak, sitting beside superstar Nathan MacKinnon, told reporters in the post-game press conference. “But like you say, the player I am, I’m not the guy everyone’s looking down the bench at, like, ‘Alright, get out there and go win it for us.’ It’s a special goal in my career, for sure.”
And a fitting one for an Avalanche team that sprinted through most of the regular season, easily winning the Presidents’ Trophy and establishing themselves as Stanley Cup favourites, but had to overcome some difficult spells in a series against the Wild that was harder than the five-game scoreline indicated.
On Wednesday, with the Avalanche trying to exorcise close-out-game ghosts who have haunted them since the team last won an NHL playoff series on home ice in 2008, Colorado had to rally from a 3-0 first-period deficit.
They needed two goals in the final 3 ½ minutes of regulation time, including MacKinnon’s bullseye laser into the short-side top corner on Minnesota goalie Jesper Wallstedt with 1:23 to go.
“I wish we’d find an easier way,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “That one was something.
“But give them credit. I felt like there was some moments in the game where we were a little down. But we had enough guys that were upbeat, positive, kept the belief, and kind of dragged the other guys into the fight a little bit. It wasn’t everyone’s best game, that’s for sure. But that’s what a team’s all about — when you’re dragging each other into the fight and trying to find a way. Yeah, it was a struggle, but we got it done.”
On the winning goal, Necas jumped onto the ice from the bench because he saw someone had missed a change and Colorado was down a skater.
Parker Kelly, the fourth-liner who started the comeback with a second-period deflection, sent a diagonal stretch pass into space that Necas, with fresh legs, skated down. He circled the Wild net and emerged in the slot with the puck, but instead of shooting passed across to Kulak for a famous winner at 3:52.
“I just started going,” Necas explained. “We were coming back in our zone and, you know, we had four guys. So I was like, might as well jump on there, I don’t care. Yeah, it worked out.”
Did Necas think of shooting, which Bednar and coaches have been exhorting the playmaker to do more often?
“I don’t think enough of shooting in my game, overall,” Necas said. “I knew what I had there and that, you know, they were tired… coming back. I’ll pass it to Kulie every time.”
And once in his career, Kulak will score a goal like that.
The defenceman, acquired by Colorado from Pittsburgh in February ahead of the NHL trade deadline in exchange for Samuel Girard and a second-round pick, became the 16th Avalanche skater to score in the five-game series.
That was powerful proof of the depth that carried Colorado.
MacKinnon scored five times for the Avalanche — two more than Wild stars Mathew Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov had between them — and 15 teammates combined for the other 19 goals.
“I love it,” Bednar said. “That’s hard to beat, you know, when you have different guys stepping up every night. There’s no sort of coming in to play our team and (saying), ‘Well, if we shut down the MacKinnon line, we’re going to win.’ To me, that’s not a recipe for success, right? You’re trying to get everyone in the right spots, in the right matchups, so everyone on your team can excel in their role. And that’s what we’ve been getting so far in the playoffs.”
“It just shows you, you need literally everybody to win even a series in this league,” MacKinnon said.
With defenceman Josh Manson injured when the series began, Sam Malinski out of the lineup by the end of it, and superstar Cale Makar playing with varying success through a lower-body injury, the Avalanche needed their second pairing of Kulak and Brent Burns to elevate.
Burns helped set up the goals by Kelly and MacKinnon after the Wild overwhelmed the Avalanche in the first period, generating a pair of goals for Nick Foligno, one for Marcus Johansson and chasing Colorado starter MacKenzie Blackwood in favour of Scott Wedgewood.
The Wild managed only seven shots on net in the final 48 minutes.
“The good news is we were down early and we had time to come back,” MacKinnon said. “It’s a long time for someone to hold a lead against us. We have confidence in our game that we can get it going.
“That building was special tonight. It was so loud. That’s why you play the game, for those reasons, right there. The excitement when Kulie scored, it’s just a really cool moment for everybody.”
A memory that will last forever for Kulak.
“Really never had one as big as this one,” he said. “You know, you eliminate a team and advance to the conference finals. This goes down as the biggest.”
“Electric,” Kelly said. “That was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Despite leading the NHL in wins since 2018, the Avalanche have been past this stage of the playoffs only once in the last eight years: when they won the Stanley Cup (with four series wins on the road) in 2022.
Another Cup has been their stated goal since training began.
“Listen, how would you rather have it?” Bednar said. “Every year I’ve been here after my second year, it’s like, Cup or bust, Cup or bust. Well, we’ve won one Cup; it’s hard to win. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. I don’t think our players would want it any other way.
“Now, you’re leaving yourself open to a lot of criticism (if you don’t win). But I’d still rather be fighting for that… and (have) the high expectations, rather than, ‘Let’s just try and make the playoffs.’ We’re only halfway home. We could be leaving ourselves open to criticism later on this year if things don’t go well. But still, it’s the way you want it.”