Avalanche show Stars they mean business, steal home-ice advantage in Game 1

The Colorado Avalanche smacked the Dallas Stars on Saturday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

In what was a 2-1 game late into the third period, the Avs turned it into a laugher with a little more than seven minutes to go.

Devon Toews scored off a slick pass from Josh Manson to give Colorado a 3-1 lead, then Nathan MacKinnon and Charlie Coyle added insurance goals to make it a blowout. The fans at the American Airlines Center quickly emptied out in what eventually turned into a 5-1 Avs win.

In the second period, the fun really began. After Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made several clutch saves on a Stars power-play and their chances right after, Colorado broke through.

Forward Artturi Lehkonen had a shot saved by Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, but stuck with the play. Eventually, while falling down, the puck went off his skate and into the back of the net. The sequence was briefly reviewed, but there was no clear kicking motion, and the Avs took a 1-0 lead. 

A few minutes later, Stars center Roope Hintz caught the superstar MacKinnon with a high stick. And he drew blood. The Avalanche got a four-minute power-play and MacKinnon made them pay. He got a lucky bounce off the shin of a Dallas player and beat Oettinger. It was 2-0 Colorado after two periods.

Meanwhile, the Avs had a golden opportunity early, but luckily it didn’t burn them. Cale Makar drew two tripping penalties against the Stars, just 36 seconds apart, fewer than five minutes into the game.

But Colorado couldn’t convert on the 5-on-3, doing what they have a tendency to do. The top power-play unit consistently got too cute with the puck, trying to force the perfect pass to Martin Necas rather than fire it on net. They left that chance without a goal, and that’s how things would remain at the first intermission, tied 0-0.

Blackwood, making his NHL playoff debut, looked sharp out of the gate and the rest of the way. Nerves weren’t a problem, as Blackwood exited the first frame with eight saves, including a couple of challenging ones. He finished the evening with 23 stops.

The Avalanche played this game without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who was scratched about 30 minutes before the contest. We’ll see if he’s an option for Game 2 on Monday, or perhaps not until Game 3 on Wednesday in front of a raucous crowd at Ball Arena.

Regardless, Colorado sent a message to Dallas on Saturday night. These two teams might both be Stanley Cup contenders, but only one has a 1-0 series lead.

The Avalanche stole home-ice advantage, and if they can win again in fewer than 48 hours, they’ll have a stranglehold on this series.

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