When the Stanley Cup Finals began, the Colorado Avalanche did not know whether or not Nazem Kadri would be able to play. He suffered a tough injury to his thumb during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The injury required surgery. Many felt it would be too much to overcome in such a short period of time.

Not only did Kadri make his return during the Stanley Cup, he scored arguably the biggest goal of his life. On Wednesday night during Game 4 of the Cup Finals, Kadri beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy just over 12 minutes into overtime. That leaves Colorado just one win away from winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001.

After the game, Kadri could not help but get emotional when talking about it.

I've been waiting for this my whole life. So, I figured I would stop waiting and try to just join the party. I'm just grateful I am able to be in this position and with this group of guys. You couldn't have written a better story,” Kadri said.

Game 4 was truly a team effort from the Avalanche. Colorado trailed 1-0 just 36 seconds into the game, sending the building into a frenzy. They easily could have gone into a shell but didn't. They trailed again 2-1 in the third period when fellow injured star Andrew Cogliano tied the game. Cogliano was also injured last series and needed surgery. He returned in Game 3 of the finals after a prolonged absence and made a huge impact.

Darcy Kuemper played outstanding in net for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon got on the scoreboard with a power play goal in the second period. The whole Avalanche team brought their best effort. Now they stand one win from the Cup.

But just because they are going back to Colorado leading 3-1 does not mean this series is over. Colorado is still playing the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. But if overtime is any indication, the Avalanche might be hoisting the trophy Friday night.