The Avalanche tied the game at 5:07 of the second, on yet another goal by Valeri Nichushkin, only to see Cale Makar called for a tripping penalty 31 seconds into a 4-on-4. Nikita Kucherov scored at 8:10 of the period on the power play.
But, once again, the Avalanche tied it, a puck from Makar that deflected off of Erik Cernak's skate and past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
It wouldn't last. There was Ondrej Palat scoring the game-winner at 13:38 of the third, a goal that Makar took responsibility for.
"I lose an assignment on the goal," he said. "Just a mental lapse. Unfortunately, it was in the back of our net. It just can't happen."
Bednar, though, said, "I wouldn't put that all on Cale."
So, no, it wouldn't be easy. It's the Stanley Cup Final. It rarely is.
"They're an experienced group," Landeskog said. "They've had a lot of success. We knew this would be the toughest game of this series. And every game is gonna get tougher. So we've just got to stick with it and keep playing our game."
That will include a smoother start, a better jump at the drop of the puck, fewer early penalties.
"I didn't love our start," Bednar said. "It was OK. We were checking, playing the right way. It didn't seem like we got on the attack as much as we wanted. But again, the two penalties early in the game for us, kind of takes you a little bit longer to get going. But after that, I thought our guys played hard, played well. We've got to find a way to capitalize on a chance or two."
It's up to them to correct that ahead of Game 6. It's up to them to not let one loss snowball into two, to not return to Ball Arena again this season.
"It was always going to be that fight," Toews said. "It's a fight every time. I don't think there's ever been an easy game to close a team out. Through our playoff run, through any playoff run, it's the hardest game -- to close a team out. We've just got to bring our best."
They will nurse their wounds for a night. They will study the game tape. They will make their adjustments.
And then, it is on to Game 6 and another chance to win the Cup.
"Obviously it stings," Landeskog said. "But, listen, it's a seven-game series and we'll wake up tomorrow, we'll be ready to go, watch some film and see where we can get better and see where we can tighten things up to make it harder for them. We'll bounce right back."