from Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com,

The Colorado Avalanche had fought for 21 years to return to the Stanley Cup Final. The journey hadn't been easy.

Why would this be any different?

Here they were, hugging and yelling and celebrating after forward Artturi Lehkonen had seemingly scored the series winner at 1:19 of overtime to give the Avalanche a 6-5 victory against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Monday. All they needed was the officials to confirm it was a good goal.

"I was hoping it wasn't a high stick," Lehkonen said.

It wasn't. The officials pointed to center ice. Good goal. And for a team that has experienced so much heartbreak and some bad breaks over the past two decades, the wait was worth it, even if they had to for a few more minutes.

When the goal was confirmed, no one whooped louder than defenseman Erik Johnson, the longest-serving member of the Avalanche who has played for Colorado since 2011. If anyone symbolized what this moment was all about, it was him.

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