Maybe the third time -- which will probably be the last time -- will be the best time for Ray Bourque.

The 40-year-old defenseman, with a bunch of gray hairs poking out from his prickly playoff goatee, will get one more chance to add a Stanley Cup to his Hall of Fame resume after his Avs advanced to the Finals with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Blues in Game 5 of their Western Conference final series on Monday night in Denver.

Colorado captain Joe Sakic netted the series-clinching, power-play goal just 24 seconds into the overtime. Sakic, who was magnificent in the series, chipped a Rob Blake rebound past the Blues' surprise starting goaltender, Brent Johnson, a 24-year-old rookie and a former Avalanche draft pick.

Although Bourque didn't get an assist on the winning goal, he had a key role in the play.

First, Bourque organized the rush by carrying the puck from behind his own net and through the neutral zone. Then he fired the disc deep into the Blues' end. Johnson, who hadn't reached his third birthday when Bourque made his NHL debut with the Bruins in October 1979, made a good read on the dump-in. The Blues stopper quickly played the puck, flipping it up the right boards toward teammate Al MacInnis.

Normally in this situation, MacInnis would be able to clear the puck safely out of the zone. However, Bourque made a good decision and pinched hard down the wall. His smarts and hustle allowed him to deflect MacInnis' clearing attempt. As luck would have it, the puck caromed directly to Milan Hejduk, who deftly shuffled the puck to Blake. An instant later, after Blake's shot hit LW Alex Tanguay, the puck was on Sakic's stick, then in the net.

Officially, the winning goal reads: Sakic (Tanguay, Blake).

Unofficially, you can add an assist to ol' Ray Bourque, who'll spend the next couple of days getting ready for one last kick at the Cup -- and wondering if this time will be his time.

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.