from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

Game 1 was won by Mike Smith, the Calgary Flames’ 37-year-old goalie.

His teammates obviously played a role in defeating the Avalanche 4-0 late Thursday at the Scotiabank Saddledome, but Smith and the penalty killers in front of him were the clear-cut difference before Calgary scored two late goals in the final minutes of the third period.

Smith outplayed Avs goalie Philipp Grubauer, who took a nine-game points streak (7-0-2) into the postseason, and Colorado failed to convert on three of the game’s first four power plays before Calgary struck twice late in the second period to take command.

“Special teams made a huge difference tonight. They capitalized. We didn’t,” Grubauer (31 saves) said. “I think we played a good game. We can learn a little bit from them. It was fun to play for sure and we’re all looking forward to Game 2. We need to get the split.”

continued

Below are the game highlights.