from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

The script felt like total fiction, a dream made up for a college sophomore and a No. 8-seeded playoff team who played in different countries 24 hours earlier.

Defenseman Cale Makar skated in the NCAA championship game in Buffalo on Saturday while the underdog Avalanche was preparing for Game 2 of its first-round series at Calgary.

So what unfolded in Game 3 at the Pepsi Center had to have seemed surreal to the Avalanche and its sellout crowd Monday — and particularly for the 20-year-old Makar.

Making his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Makar played regularly at even strength. He ran the No. 2 power play unit. He gained enough trust to play in a 4-on-4 situation. And, yes, he scored his first career NHL goal with his first shot in the league in a dominating first period that carried the Avs to a 6-2 victory and 2-1 series lead over the Western Conference;s top-seeded Flames.

continue for more on Makar and the game...

Below, watch Maker's goal.