Recap: Landeskog scores & Avalanche pulverize the Stars to even the series

The boys needed to fight and scrap, and they did that and then some. Win 4-0 and tie the series at 2-2.

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche were the aggressive, hard-nosed team they needed to be Saturday night at Ball Arena

The Avs evened up the best-of-seven series against the Dallas Stars at two games apiece with a 4-0 shutout victory.

Gabriel Landeskog scored for the first time since Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals in a moment that was soon trending worldwide. Nathan MacKinnon, Samuel Girard, and Logan O’Connor also scored for the Avalanche.

Mackenzie Blackwood, who scored his first career playoff shutout, saved all 23 shots.

Jake Oettinger started the game for the Stars, but was yanked after two periods for Casey DeSmith. Oettinger finished with three goals allowed, while DeSmith was responsible for the fourth.

The three stars of the game were O’Connor, Blackwood, and Landeskog.

First Period

The game was tense from the get-go as Landeskog had the puck poke-checked away from him by Mikko Rantanen and was subsequently checked into the boards by Lindell.

Colorado needed to be aggressive, and they were in the first period, pouring the pressure on Dallas. Lehkonen had a breakaway opportunity but was turned away by Oettinger. Cale Makar also had a beautiful chance when he split two defenders, only to miss the net.

Dallas went on the power play after Logan O’Connor was whistled for high-sticking. But on the very next play, Hintz was penalized for slashing Makar after the whistle, and Drury was also boxed for roughing.

As we indicated earlier on Saturday, Colorado needed to get more aggressive in this game, regardless of how the officials felt about it.

With 10:40 remaining, the Stars had seven shots on goal to the Avs’ 6. There was no doubt that Colorado came to fight.

Toews was penalized with just over eight minutes to go when he Tiger Woods’d a puck into the crowd. As a result, a delay of the game was called.

However, Logan O’Connor made up for it when he forced a turnover and went on a breakaway to beat Oettinger via the wrister on a shorthanded goal. And just like that, Colorado had a 1-0 lead.

Mason Marchment continued to be himself with 2:19 to go when he was penalized for elbowing Makar while he was down. This gave the Avalanche a prime opportunity to capitalize on the power play. Unlike Game 3, the Avalanche scored when Toews fed MacKinnon a beautiful one-timer from the left circle.

At the end of the first, the Avalanche held a 2-0 lead, and shots were even at 11 apiece.

Second Period

The Avalanche continued to set a blistering pace to begin the second period of play, but Oettinger continued to make scintillating saves from nearly every angle.

But with just under seven minutes left, “The Captain” made his grand return, taking a feed from Brock Nelson and ripping a howitzer top shelf to give the Avalanche a commanding 3-0 lead. The crowd chanted, “LANDY!” LANDY!” LANDY!” for just over a minute following the score.

At the end of two, the Avalanche were an entirely different team. They led the game 3-0 and dominated puck possession. Shots on goal were in favor of the Avalanche 34-16.

Third Period

The final frame kicked off with a stunning development when Oettinger was yanked for Casey DeSmith. Colorado was questionably penalized when Ryan Lindgren was called for holding Matt Duchene.

After killing off the penalty, Colorado continued to pour it on. And with 9:14 remaining, Girard scored with a blast from the point to make it a 4-0 game.

To further illustrate the one-sided nature of the action, with just under eight minutes left in regulation, the Avalanche held a 46-18 advantage in shots. And about a minute later, Drury had a juicy chance to make it a 5-1 lead, but his shot missed wide.

Marchment got a taste of his own medicine when he tried to check Necas into the boards, but when the latter turned his body, Marchment ended up wrecking himself and took some time to get to the bench.

After some late roughhousing, Colorado came away with the victory.

Takeaways

Our analytical piece, released earlier today, may have come across as negative. Still, in reality, we wanted to see this team fight for every inch and showcase their full potential. They did just that, and instead of being on the brink of elimination, the Colorado Avalanche are in a prime position to take this series over.

Way to go, boys. On to Game 5.

Next Game

The Avalanche head back to American Airlines Center to square off against the Dallas Stars in enemy territory on Monday. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. local time.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images