Special teams, miscues, and nobodies cost the Avalanche

The Avalanche came out on fire looking to take control of the game and get a leg up on the Stars in the final game. Series sparkplug Logan O’Connor lead a rush towards Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin from the word Go, getting a shot on goal in the first 10 seconds that nearly beat the veteran netminder. The Stars would take the puck and put pressure on the Avs, drawing a tripping penalty by Mikko Rantanen. And then the Stars went to work. With 30 second left on the penalty to Rantanen, Alexander Radulov would put the puck past Michael Hutchinson to give the Stars a lead.

That goal gave the Stars 8 goals on the Power Play in the series, which would expand to 9 in the third period, again from Radulov. The Stars finished the series going 9 for 23 on the Power Play, succeeding on roughly 40% of their chances. In the regular season, that total would have blown the doors off of first place by 10%. Meanwhile, the Avalanche had a stretch of 12 straight Power Play chances they did not score on, stretching from all of Games 5 and 6 and into the first chance of Game 7 for the Avs. They would get a Power Play goal from Nazem Kadri in the second period, but it was too little, too late for the Burgundy and Blue.

The Avalanche finished the series against the Stars going 4 for 32 on the Power Play, good for 1 goal every 8 Power Play chances. The Ottawa Senators, who were the second to last team in the league, and dead last on the Power Play this season had better numbers than that in the regular season. The Avs ineffectiveness on the penalty kill, as well as their inability to score on the Power Play cost them Game 7, and cost them the series.

The Avs would get a late goal from Vladislav Namestnikov at the 3 minutes 40 second mark of the third period to take the lead 4-3. On the ensuing faceoff, Nazem Kadri would get the puck on the Avs defensive blue line. He mishandled the puck, sending it backwards through his legs accidentally. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskinen jumped on the puck, creating a 3 on 2 chance for the Stars. A couple passes later, a Roope Hintz shot would land on the stick of unknown rookie Joel Kirivanta (More on him later) who put in the back of the net 10 seconds after the Avs scored the go ahead goal. Any momentum the Avs gained from scoring their 4^th goal of the game disappeared as quickly as it came. Had the goal came a minute or 2 after the go ahead goal, the Avs may have stood a chance in the rest of the game, but the fact the Kadri miscue came so soon after the go ahead ruined the Avs momentum and chances in the game.

And now we get to the dark horse of the night. Stars Rookies Joel Kirivanta came into Game 7 with 2 career points. He had 1 goal in the regular season, and he had an assist in the Star’s Round 1 series against Calgary. Early in the second period, the Stars would have an extended chance with a man advantage due to a delayed penalty call on the Avalanche. Denis Gurianov would take a shot from the point, which would be redirected by Kirivanta into the back of the net, tying the game at 2 goals apiece. Late in the third period, 10 seconds after Vladislav Namestnikov put the Avs ahead 4-3, Kirivanta would take a rebound off of Roope Hintz’s shot and put it past Hutchinson to tie the game and eventually force Overtime.

In Overtime, Stars forward Andrej Sekera would take the puck behind the Avs net. There would be no less than 4 Avalanche players within 2 feet of Avs Goalie Michael Hutchinson when Kirivanta made his move. He sliced out of the crease and set up in the slot, getting the pass from Sekera, and shooting immediately to beat Hutchinson, beat the Avs, and write his name in the history books. Kirivanta became the first player in NHL history to have his first 3 playoff goals all come in the same game. If Kirivanta never plays another game in the NHL, Avs and Stars fans will remember him forever as the man who put the team on his back and carried the Stars to the Western Conference Finals.