In the clutch, J.T. stands for "Just Tremendous"

His ice time in normal situations is, well, normal. His ice time when the Avalanche needs a big goal is: however much he wants.

J.T. Compher lives for the clutch moments. In his DNA, he’s got that gene that stays cool and calm in emergency situations, while others get jittery and panicky. When the Avs needed a tying goal in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Calgary Flames, there was Compher out there, with guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog. The guy who scored the tying goal, to get to the game to overtime?

Compher.

When the Avs were desperate for a goal to get back into Game 4 Wednesday night, it was Compher who finally solved Flames goalie Mike Smith. The guy who almost won the game a short time later, on a breakaway in overtime? Compher. If not for a rolling puck and having to go to his forehand at an awkward position, Compher would have been the OT hero instead of Mikko Rantanen.

Compher, still just a kid early into his career, has 32 career regular-season goals in 156 games. A testament to his clutch abilities: Seven have been game-winners. We’ve seen how he can elevate himself even further in the playoffs.

“I just love playoffs, and tournament settings,” Compher told BSN Denver. “I’m a competitive person, I want to put (the big one) in, I want to end the game.”

That’s about as far as Compher usually goes in talking about himself. He’ll talk all day about the team, and winning and all that stuff. When it comes to patting himself on the back, Compher has alligator arms.

“This is such a great group to be a part of. Every guy in this locker room is important, every guy has contributed to us getting this far,” Compher said. “It’s just nice to be a part of it.”

Avs coach Jared Bednar gives Compher the ultimate compliment by almost always putting him on the ice in when his team needs a goal at the end. He played just 12:09 overall in a Game 2 that went to overtime, but was out there at the end of regulation with the “big boys” and got the goal that, if he hadn’t gotten it, would have put the Avs in a 2-0 series hole.

“He helps us in so many different ways,” Bednar said. “He’s not a high-end, dynamic scorer or anything, but he’s highly competitive and he’s been so good on the draws, especially from the right side. He’s a key contributor to our success, there’s no question.”

Compher got the moniker “Jimothy Timothy” from former Altitude Avs sideline reporter Lauren Gardner, but his real name is Joseph Taylor Compher. But nobody calls him “Joey” or “Jo-Jo”. He is universally known around the Avs’ room as “Comph.”

“He’s a great player. He scores so many important goals for us. It’s fun to watch,” Rantanen said. “He’s a really solid two-way guy.”

Compher had a good feeling after scoring his goal in Game 4. Not just for himself, but for what it might foreshadow the rest of the way.

“It was a little bit of stubbornness, I’d say (for the slow start). We weren’t getting to our forecheck and getting pucks behind their D. We were turning more pucks over than we’d like,” he said. “Once we started doing that, we tired their D out. We were all over them. We were physical, getting them turning the puck over and playing our game.”

NOTEBOOK

• Bednar said that, while injured Sam Girard (upper body) and Derick Brassard (illness) will go on the trip to Calgary for Game 5, he expects his lineup to stay the same from what it has been the last two games.
• Cale Makar grew up in Calgary, and said he has already gotten more than a few angry (but good-natured) texts from Flames fan friends. He said he will stay with the team at its hotel while in town, not at his parents’ place there.
• The Flames allowed an NHL-best 28.1 shots on goal per game in the regular season. But in the last two games, in regulation, the Avs have fired 102 shots on Smith (51 average).