Thanks to key contributions from defensemen, the Avs force a Game 7

The Avalanche went into Game 6 against the Stars needing a win to keep their promising season alive. And boy did they deliver.

The defensemen were the early story of the game, as each team scored a goal in the first period, both coming from defensemen. It would be a scoreless game until the 17-minute mark of the first period, when Miro Heiskinen snapped a puck on net from the top of the circle. With a wide open look on the young defenseman, Avs goaltender Michael Hutchinson looked to make the save, with the puck making contact with his catching mitt. But it would deflect off the top of the glove and into the back of the net, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead.

That would be the only mistake of the night for Hutchinson, who was making only his second career playoff start, both of which resulted in victories. Hutch would finish the game with 27 saves on 28 shots, good for a .964 save percentage on the night.

The Avs would remain behind until there was under a minute left in the first period, when a Nikita Zadorov shot from the point would get past traffic and beat Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin to tie the game for the Avs. The key part of the goal actually came directly in front of Khudobin. J.T. Compher was screening the goaltender attempting to get in the way of his sightline. That’s when Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak would cost his team the lead. Oleksiak ended up shoving Compher towards the net and into Khudobin just as the shot came in.

Khudobin has proven time and again in the series that he could save shots like the one from Zadorov. But once Oleksiak shoved Compher, it impeded both Khudobin’s vision and his ability to get in front of the puck.

The teams would remain tied until the seven-minute mark of the second period when Calder Trophy frontrunner Cale Makar would walk through the defense and put a shot off Khudobin’s helmet and into the back of the net. The goal was Makar’s 15th point in the playoffs, setting a new rookie defenseman record. It would also be the game winner.

Mikko Rantanen would add a goal off a Nathan MacKinnon pass to increase the lead to two goals. And MacKinnon would put in an empty netter to give the Avs a 4-1 win.

While the Avalanche dominated on the goal sheet, and Hutchinson shut the door on the Stars after his first period miscue, the day was not perfect for the Avalanche. The Avs have now gone two straight games without a power play goal. In those two games, the Avalanche had a combined 11 power play chances; they couldn’t capitalize on any of them.

In the series as a whole, the Avalanche have only scored three power play goals in 28 opportunities, good for a little over 10 percent. That percentage would have finished dead last in the NHL in the regular season by a wide margin.

The Avs power play numbers are inflated in the postseason due to a first-round series against the Coyotes where the Avalanche went 11 for 31. With the amount of penalties the Stars have been racking up in the series, the Avalanche need to take advantage of their opportunities if they want to maximize their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

But thanks to some key plays from defensemen, Colorado lives to fight another day.