The Avalanche earn their fourth opportunity to beat Dallas in a Game 7

The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche have played four game sevens since the 1998-99 season. Saturday will bring another.

The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are used to doing-or-dying hockey, with the teams bringing a combined 67 playoff appearances. (Colorado 30 – Dallas 37) They have also become accustomed to facing each other within this context, with Saturday’s game seven presenting the fourth between these clubs since the 1998-99 season. They say that the past is the best indicator of future outcomes. Let’s look at how this matchup has turned out in the past.

Western Conference Finals in 1998-99

The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche met in the height of Colorado’s golden era, and this defensive series saw the first six games split evenly between the two teams. Both squads boasted quality rosters with names like Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mike Modano, Brett Hull, and Patrick Roy, all featured in this classic showdown. We old-timers remember this one as a significant disappointment with Colorado, as a goaltending duel between Roy and Eddie Belfour would end in a 4-1 defeat. Dallas would advance to the Stanley Cup Final and inevitably win the Stanley Cup.

Western Conference Finals in 1999-00

Over the years, a lot has been said about the rivalry between Colorado and Detroit in the 1990s, but add Dallas to that list, as clearly, the back-to-back WCF battles show how good these two teams were. In a game that Dallas seemed to control early, Colorado never could do enough, ultimately losing to Dallas yet again, this time by a score of 3-2. This time, Belfour and Dallas couldn’t take home Lord Stanley.

Second Round in the Bubble

We are five years removed from the bubble playoffs, which at this point feels like a dream or something that didn’t even happen, except that it did, and yet again, it hurt. Colorado’s usual goalies (Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz) were injured, so the Avalanche were forced to go with Michael Hutchinson in net.

Joel Kiviranta went off against his current club back then, and Dallas would win by a score of 4-3. This was also the series in which Landeskog sustained the injury that sent him on a three-year recovery tour.

First Round in 2024-25

As you can see, game seven has been the scourge of Colorado’s existence when Dallas is on the opposite end. Nathan MacKinnon looks to win the first game seven of his illustrious career, which is a fact that’s almost hard to believe. Then again, when he hoisted his first cup, the Avalanche only lost four games throughout the playoffs. Jared Bednar is also winless in game sevens, so perhaps this is where and when the Avalanche, MacKinnon, and Bedsy lay demons to rest.

It’s also quite ironic and romantic that Gabe Landeskog’s return to the ice culminates in this one game against the team that he was facing when his knee was lacerated by Cale Makar’s skate. I’m not a script writer, but I’d know exactly what I’d pen if I were. We all know it’s not sunshine and rainbows regarding elimination games. Let’s see what Colorado can do with this new opportunity.