The Stars are without Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, yet they still lead their opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche three games to two. How in the world?
Compound those absences with the fact that coming into Game 5 last night, the big dogs — namely Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Duchene — hadn't made their mark on the series just yet, at least on the scoreboard. To have the series tied while getting little to no production from the top players was a remarkable feat, but it was time for them to show up and make their presence known.
That’s exactly what they did last night.
Nine seconds into the game, Johnston raced past a lazily skating Nathan MacKinnon and beat him to an entry pass that had bounced off the boards. He then fired it on net from a bizarre angle, catching Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood completely by surprise. The shot somehow found the back of the net, giving the Stars a 1–0 lead with less than ten seconds off the clock.
Perhaps that shocking goal set the tone for the Stars — and for Blackwood and company — for the rest of the night. Colorado, to its credit, didn’t back down after the opening goal, swarming in search of an equalizer throughout the first period. Thanks to some stingy work by Jake Oettinger, though, that goal never came.
Instead, the Stars added another tally late in the first period on yet another blunder by Blackwood. After a turnover by the Avalanche in their own defensive zone, Thomas Harley snapped a shot toward Blackwood, which he stopped with his blocker. The puck went flying into the air, and Blackwood seemingly forgot that what goes up must come down. That’s exactly what the puck did, bouncing off the back of Blackwood’s sweater and into the net for Dallas’ second goal of the night.
Prior to Game 5, Stars head coach Pete DeBoer was asked about the lack of production from Rantanen and the other star players on the roster. He said that “it’s time now” and that he thought “these guys are all due.” He was right.
A little over a minute into the second period, the Avalanche’s offensive pressure backfired, as the Stars caught them sleeping on the back end and created a two-on-one rush. It was the two Finnish stars — Rantanen and Roope Hintz — who connected, with Hintz dishing a beautiful pass to a cutting Rantanen, who buried it with ease. It was Rantanen’s 35th career postseason goal — and his first with Dallas. Was it poetic that his first with his new team came against the squad where he’d scored the other 34 of his Stanley Cup Playoff goals? I think so.
Even down 3–0, the Avalanche were still dangerous, as evidenced by the back-to-back goals they scored within a 2:27 span. Artturi Lehkonen scored the first after Martin Nečas fired a puck on net, and Lehkonen was able to tip it past Oettinger. The second came off a beautiful shot from MacKinnon, who beat Duchene and then easily fired one into the back of the net.
After those two goals from Colorado, the momentum had completely swung. From my seat back home, it looked like an equalizer from the Avalanche was just an eventuality. It was not — thanks in part to a dumb play by Sam Malinski.
Mark Lazerus, a senior NHL writer at The Athletic, correctly pointed out that Malinski’s elbowing penalty on Sam Steel was the turning point of the game. Colorado was going to tie it up — we were all certain of it — but then Malinski immediately put Dallas on the power play with a really, really stupid penalty. Here it is for yourself:
The puck is long gone, yet Malinski still decides to elbow Steel in the face. That’s just not good hockey, folks.
The ensuing man advantage for the Stars resulted in a little insurance — thanks to a beautiful goal from Johnston, his second of the game. He was set up by an even more beautiful pass from Duchene, who swung the puck across the crease to Johnston, leaving him with a wide-open net to finish the play.
Then, with momentum back on Dallas’ side, Mason Marchment tipped in an Alex Petrovic shot from the point to give the Stars a three-goal lead once again. One quick note on that Marchment goal: Tyler Seguin did an excellent job maintaining possession behind the net on that play. Had he not done so, Colorado likely takes control of the puck there, and that goal doesn’t happen. Seguin was awarded a secondary assist for his efforts.
For the rest of the game, everything pretty much held serve. Colorado was awarded some chances in the third period thanks to a cross-checking penalty by Lian Bichsel, but Oettinger and his penalty-killing unit were able to snuff out the danger with relative ease — except for when Cody Ceci lost his skate blade and had to defend on one knee for about ten seconds. It’s funny in hindsight, but in real time, it was a freaky moment that could’ve ended in disaster for the Stars.
An empty-netter by Hintz capped off the night for Dallas as it cruised to a 6–2 win in Game 5 to take a 3–2 series lead.
I wrote in my Game 4 recap on Sunday morning that, despite the lackluster performance by the Stars in their 4–0 shutout loss in Denver on Saturday night, they were in a good spot. Without Heiskanen and Robertson, being tied through four games was probably the best-case scenario.
Now, the Stars are just one win away from advancing to the second round for the third season in a row. There’s no doubt that they’re in a fantastic position, but the job is not finished. As Bob Sturm will tell you, it’s the first to four, not one, or two, or three.
The Avalanche are really good. Despite not getting standout performances from Brock Nelson, Martin Nečas, and Valeri Nichushkin, they’ve still managed to give Dallas a formidable test. That’s mostly because MacKinnon and Cale Makar are just that good — and not to be trifled with.
So, as the Stars head to Denver to try and win Game 6 — and with it, the series — just remember that this rollercoaster ride isn’t over. The Avalanche are not going down without a fight. In fact, I believe Game 6 will be the toughest test for the Stars so far this series. You thought the desperation Colorado showed in Game 4 was intense? Well, get ready to see what a team fighting like an animal backed into a corner looks like on Thursday night.
It’s going to be stressful, but that’s what the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about.