Avalanche’s Darren Helm scores in final seconds in Game 6 against Blues; Colorado advances to Western Conference final

ST. LOUIS — Darren Helm might deserve a new nickname, “Hallelujah Helm.”

The former Detroit Red Wings forward became a Colorado hero Friday night, scoring with 5.6 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Avalanche to its first Western Conference finals since 2002.

Helm’s slap shot from the left circle gave the Avs a 3-2 victory over St. Louis in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinal series here.

Skating down the left wing, Helm took a pass off the boards from linemate Logan O’Connor and used a giant shot — the Avs’ 39th of the game — to beat goalie Ville Husso inside the far post.

“It found its way in. It felt great,” the soft-spoken Helm said. “We stuck with it the whole night. We were down most of it. We just kept plugging away and, as a team, we were able to find a way to win.”

“I’m happy and proud of our guys, proud of our season to this point,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “But we’re just starting the work.”

Colorado, 5-0 on the road in the postseason, will host the Edmonton Oilers for Game 1 of the conference finals Tuesday evening at Ball Arena. The Avs, who are in their fifth consecutive postseason, had lost in the second round for the past three years.

“You really have to enjoy the journey,” top-line center Nathan MacKinnon said. “That’s the most important thing. We’re going to look back on this journey of getting to this point. Obviously, the job’s not finished, but that’s a great accomplishment for us. We’ve been through some dark times so nice to get over this hump, for sure.”

The winning play Friday began from behind the net of Avs goalie Darcy Kuemper. Defenseman Cale Makar made an outlet pass to partner Erik Johnson. Johnson drove through the neutral zone and gave it to O’Connor, who spotted Helm skating down from the opposite side.

“Super exciting,” Kuemper said of the winning goal. “Super clutch goal. It’s always fun to see someone like Darren who plays the game so hard and always doesn’t get rewarded with the points. But to come up with a big goal like that is really special.”

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The Avs, who entered Game 6 with just one goal from their bottom-six forwards, got all three goals from depth guys. Third-line center J.T. Compher scored Colorado’s first two goals to forge 1-1 and 2-2 ties.

“We’re excited for the next challenge. The job’s only half done,” Compher said of winning two of the necessary four seven-game series to win the Stanley Cup. “We’ll definitely enjoy it for a little bit. But it’s done. It’s right back to work. We haven’t accomplished anything. There’s plenty more to go.”

Compher tied it at 2-2 at 10:18 of the third period. On a rush into the Blues’ zone, rookie defenseman Bo Byram swung the puck wide to Compher on the right wing, and the third-line center beat Husso with a wrist shot inside the near post.

Compher scored his first goal of the game to tie it 1-1 at 5:19 of the second period. From just outside the crease, he chipped a rebound past Husso. It was just the second tally of the series for the bottom six, and it was aided by two Blues icing calls that forced defenseman Nick Leddy into a 3:22 shift.

But the Blues regained the lead about four minutes later. Avs defenseman Jack Johnson turned the puck over on the offensive blue line and St. Louis forwards Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou created a 2-on-1 against lone defenseman Josh Manson. Schenn made a circle-to-circle pass to Kyrou, who buried the one-timer past Kuemper.

Manson prevented another Blues goal late in the period. Kuemper lost his balance while sliding to his left to confront a shot by Kyrou, and slid out of the crease. But Manson stepped in for the goalie, going to his knees and knocking Kyrou’s shot down to prevent the Blues from taking a 3-1 lead.

“It was a bit of a panic, to be honest with you,” Manson said of his big block. “We’re a resilient team. We’re still going to bounce back. But it was nice to get that one (blocked).”

The Avalanche played to its identity from the outset, producing 10 of the first 12 shots until Manson was sent to the penalty box for interference. The Blues didn’t generate much on the power play but it seemed to interfere with Colorado’s flow.

Shortly after Manson was released, St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk found open ice between the circles and accepted a pass from winger Robert Thomas and beat Kuemper with a wrist shot.

The first goal of the game hasn’t meant much in this series as the team that scored first lost each game.

“That’s kind of crazy how it worked out that way. Definitely an outlier,” Kuemper said. “You don’t want to be given up the first goal going forward.”

Footnotes. Compher’s goals were the first tallies of the postseason. … The Avs made one lineup change: Forward Andre Burakovsky replaced Alex Newhook on the third line. Newhook stepped in for Burakovsky the two previous games. … Colorado’s other scratches were forward Nico Sturm and defensemen Ryan Murray and Kurtis MacDermid.

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