Both traded by the Montreal Canadiens during the regular season, Artturi Lehkonen and Brett Kulak will advance to the National Hockey League Western Conference Finals, but only one of them will advance to the fourth and final series round.
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Lehkonen and the Colorado Avalanche will host Kulak and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday in Denver.
The series promises to be explosive in attack, with both teams betting on top-level players. The Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen will get their money’s worth with the two-headed Oilers monster of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
However, hockey players playing a more obscure but important role, like Kulak and Lehkonen, could have a say in the outcome of the matchup. Moreover, the two men have helped their respective club since leaving the Habs.
In Colorado, Lehkonen has the opportunity to play on the right of Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon in the first line. The Finn remains reliable in defense, he who posted a differential of 5 in 10 outings since the start of the playoffs. Offensively, he has four goals and one assist.
For his part, Kulak plays to the left of Tyson Barrie in the third pair of defenders. The Albertan who plays in his hometown is 5 in 12 playoff games.
The TVA Sports channel will broadcast the first Oilers-Avalanche game on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
