Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars, Round 1 Game 2 (7:30 p.m. MT)

It’s a Colorado Avalanche playoff game day!

The Colorado Avalanche stormed into Dallas and turned a close Game 1 into a 5-1 blowout with a dominant third period. Artturi Lehkonen kicked off the scoring in the second period with a whacky goal off his foot while falling, and the Avs never looked back. Nathan MacKinnon added a power-play tally and an empty-netter, but the true star of the show was goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who rose to the playoff occasion in a way doubters weren’t sure he could. Can he bring that same level of play to Game 2? We’re about to find out!

Colorado Avalanche

The Avs sure looked every part of the Stanley Cup contender that fans and media have hyped them up to be in Game 1, dominating the underlying metrics and the scoreboard against a very good but undermanned Dallas Stars team.

The only real knock on the Avs in Game 1 would be the one thing that’s plagued them from the start of the season – injuries. Ross Colton left the game after a 15-second shift in the third period and did not return due to a lower-body injury. No update has been given on his status, but it seems likely he’ll sit out at least one game to nurse his LBI.

Josh Manson returned from injury and gave the whole Josh Manson experience – rock solid defense, some big hits, a dumb penalty, and a beautiful assist on Devon Toews’ third goal that put the Avalanche firmly in the driver’s seat to close out the win. An impressive return!

Also impressive – the fourth line of Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, and Logan O’Connor absolutely ate the Stars all night. They gave up zero shots on goal, zero scoring chances, and zero expected goals. ZERO! That’s dominance. Sure, they didn’t score, but they easily could have on their three high-danger chances. It’s safe to assume that after a game that good, they’ll be sticking together despite the injury to Colton.

Projected Lineup

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta – Charlie Coyle – GABRIEL LANDESKOG!!!!
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Ryan Lindgren – Josh Manson
Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson