With the Colorado Avalanche learning they’d face the Dallas Stars after they beat the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games on Sunday, it was a tall order. Going up against more star power and dependable depth, the Avs knew what they had to do.
They took care of business in Game One and will be looking to conquer Game Two tonight in the Lone Star State. Another win on the road here would not only mean Dallas has lost the first two games at home in their two series, but it would be a dominant 2-0 series lead for Colorado coming home.
Colorado Avalanche (5-1-0)
The Avs are on a five-game win streak after dropping Game One against the Winnipeg Jets in a barnburner. Luckily, they haven’t had to worry too much about it since then, until the last game. They fell down 3-0 early but rallied back to beat the Stars 4-3 in OT.
Miles Wood played the hero with a phenomenal finish thanks to a stretch pass by Andrew Cogliano. While the usual suspects of Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, and Cale Makar scored to bring the game back even, it would be none of them combining for the winner.
Colorado will need this once again, and if everyone can combine to contribute, they could put Dallas down early and often. They could get more support with a possible return of Joel Kiviranta from injury. While he was skating this morning with Johnathan Drouin, the latter of the two is not an option tonight and we may end up seeing Chris Wagner. We will not know until warmups later tonight.
Projected Lines
Valeri Nichushkin (13) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Mikko Rantanen (96)
Artturi Lehkonen (62) – Casey Mittelstadt (37) – Zach Parise (9)
Miles Wood (28) – Ross Colton (20) – Joel Kiviranta (94)
Andrew Cogliano (11) – Yakov Trenin (73) – Brandon Duhaime (12)
Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Sam Girard (49) – Josh Manson (42)
Jack Johnson (3) – Sean Walker (26)
Alexandar Georgiev (40)
Dallas Stars (4-3-1)
Dallas needs a response on home ice after losing Game One. They would like to not be in the same situation they faced in the first round against the Golden Knights, dropping the first two games on home ice.
While they managed to take Game Five and Seven at home, they may be running into wear and tear after battling a hard seven games against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. It doesn’t get any easier in this series against the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions, and it was demonstrated in Game One despite going up 3-0 early on.
Wyatt Johnston continued his hot streak in these playoffs with yet another goal, but after the first period, he and the likes of Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski were shut down. Everybody in the Stars’ depth will need to show up to avoid another loss on home ice, and they may get it with the return of Mason Marchment from injury.
Projected Lines
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Logan Stankoven (11)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Evgenii Dadonov (63) – Sam Steel (18) – Craig Smith (15)
Thomas Harley (55) – Miro Hiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Chris Tanev (3)
Ryan Suter (20) – Nils Lundkvist (5)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Broadcast Details
Time: 7:30 p.m. MT
Watch: TNT, truTV, Max, Sportsnet, TVAS
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio FM 92.5
Opponent’s Beat: Defending Big D