Avalanche-Stars Game 7 preview: Colorado eyes first Game 7 victory since 2002

The Colorado Avalanche kept their season alive in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars in a 7-4 victory in what could be the final game at Ball Arena this season. After letting up four goals in the second period, Colorado rallied in the third, and with the help of some puck luck, took the lead and never looked back, setting up a winner-take-all decider down in Dallas on Saturday.

The Avalanche are 0-6 in their last six Game 7s, with the last win coming in 2002 over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Semifinals. They have also lost all three Game 7s they have played against the Dallas Stars, with the last one being an overtime loss in the Bubble in 2020. Stars head coach Pete DeBoer is 8-0 all-time in Game 7s as the coach of Dallas, New Jersey, San Jose and Las Vegas.

While it’s impossible to predict puck luck, it’s been the story of the last two games, as Dallas had two ‘puck luck’ goals in Game 5 and the Avalanche came back with two of their own in Game 6. Valeri Nichushkin, after showing frustration for most of the series, found his stride with two goals in the last game, and Cale Makar found a rhythm with a slick assist to Martin Necas to set up a goal in the second period. Those three will need to keep that level of play if the Avalanche want to advance, as they have not been playing to their respective standards for most of the series.

How to watch Game 7 of Avalanche-Stars

Game 7 will be broadcast on ABC and Altitude TV with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. Denver time. It will also be streamed on Altitude+.

Odds for Game 7 of Avalanche-Stars

Moneylines: Avalanche -162, Stars +134

Puck lines: Avalanche -1.5 (+156), Stars +1.5 (-194)

Total: 5.5

The oddsmakers are predicting a physical, low-scoring game to close out the series.

Projected lines for Game 7 of Avalanche-Stars

Avalanche
Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Necas
Landeskog – Nelson – Nichushkin
Kiviranta – Coyle – Drouin
Kelly – Drury – O’Connor

Makar – Towes
Girard – Manson
Lindgren – Malinski

Blackwood
Wedgewood

Stars
Granlund – Hintz – Rantanen
Marchment – Duchene – Seguin
Benn – Johnston – Dadonov
Back – Steel – Blackwell

Lindell – Ceci
Harley – Lyubushkin
Bichsel – Petrovic

Oettinger
DeSmith

*Lines reported from practice ahead of Game 7. Subject to change when teams take the ice for warmups*

Injury notes/report for Game 7 of Avalanche-Stars

Avalanche
Ross Colton is still out for the Avalanche, as Jared Bednar gave an update earlier in the series that essentially ruled out a Colton return in this series.

Stars
Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson and Nils Lundkvist are all out for Game 7, despite making good progress towards a return throughout the week.

What to watch for in Game 7 of Avalanche-Stars

Once again, it’s the goaltender matchup of Jake Oettinger and Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood had a rough second period on Thursday after getting pulled from Game 5, but was able to regain his focus when the team needed it most and kept the Stars out of the goal in the third period. Oettinger has been solid for the Stars most of the series, as the Avalanche have piled up the shot totals with 214 through six games (first in the NHL), and is the reason why the Stars have been in some of the games late.

In terms of goals saved over expected, Blackwood ranks fourth in the NHL (3.0) while Oettinger ranks sixth (2.0). The two have been solid in between the pipes when their teams have needed them, and could be the deciding factor in who emerges victorious in Dallas on Saturday night.

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