Andrew Hammond made only 1 start all year, but he saved Avalanche's season in Game 5

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Andrew Hammond started just one game in goal all season for the Colorado Avalanche, but when called upon Friday night, he came through with a season-saving performance.

With the Avalanche in a 3-1 hole in their series against the No. 1 seed Nashville Predators, Hammond stopped 44 of 45 shots as the Avalanche came back in the third period to win 2-1 — forcing a Game 6 back in Denver.

Hammond, who was acquired by the Avalanche in the November trade that saw them ship out longtime star Matt Duchene, was only getting the call in net because of an injury to Jonathan Bernier, and due to the prior season-ending injury to starter Semyon Varlamov.

His only other NHL action this season, apart from 17:32 in relief of Bernier in Game 4, was a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 28.

“It’s one of those things I’ve learned in my career: You never know when you’re going to get a second chance,” Hammond said. “I’ve played two games basically since the start of January – at times it felt as though that day would never come again when you’re going to play again. You keep battling in practice, you stick to the process, when you get your chance, you’re ready.”

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"The Hamburglar" first rose to prominence in 2015 with a stunning 20-1-2 run that saw him post a .941 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average, a performance essentially responsible for getting the Ottawa Senators to the playoffs that season.

But he was unable to recapture that magic and largely had faded into obscurity — until Friday that is.

Now, the Avalanche return home looking to extend their worst-to-playoffs season to a seventh game against the NHL's best regular-season team. Game 6 is Sunday in Denver.

Contributing: AP