Colorado Avalanche: Facing the Dallas Stars in Round 2

The Colorado Avalanche will face the Dallas Stars in Round 2. Here are three challenges they must meet to ensure victory.

The Colorado Avalanche finished the Arizona Coyotes in a decisive fashion, 4-1 in the series with 7-1 being the score of their last two games. They didn’t have to wait too long to discover who their second-round opponent would be.

The Dallas Stars had to go to six games to solve the Calgary Flames, but they got the job done. Their final game was also decisive, 7-3. They were down 3-0, though, and scored seven unanswered goals to get that result.

Well, we spent most of the regular season wanting to overtake the St. Louis Blues for tops in the Western Conference so we wouldn’t have to face the Dallas Stars in the first round. And here we are having to face them in the second round. Some things have a certain inevitability.

So, the Avalanche are going to play the Stars — they’re going to “host” them actually by virtue of the re-seeding. That doesn’t mean much in the bubble, but it’s a little something,

Let’s look at some of the challenges facing Colorado in this series.

Dallas’ Comeback

Man, oh man, you hate to see your upcoming opponent having come back from such a deficit. The Stars not only came back from a 3-0 deficit, they scored seven goals. Talk about putting the boot on the throat.

That means Colorado can’t take their foot off the gas pedal. Sure, maybe a 5-0 lead is relatively safe, which they had over the Coyotes a couple times. However, seven goals will defeat even that lead. The Avs will have to keep their foot on the throat in this instance.

Dallas’ Defense

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The Coyotes are known for their great defense. Colorado struggled with it at times, but mostly made minced meat in the end. Dallas is also known for its great defense, but making minced meat of that blueline won’t be so easy.

The centerpiece of that defense is John Klingberg, a man who bedeviled the Avs in the regular season. Their crown jewel is the player they stole from Colorado in the 2017 NHL Draft. Yes, the Avs should have had the first or second pick, but what they most wanted was Miro Heiskenan. Dallas snapped him up with the third-overall because they’d jumped up in the draft lottery.

It will be fun, then, to watch the player we did end up getting Cale Makar, play against the one that got away. Dallas thinks they’ve got their new Mike Modano in Heiskenan. Here in Avs Nation, though, we’re pretty content with out consolation prize, Cale Makar.

Dallas’ Grit

Why did the Dallas Stars have to go out and get Corey Perry in the offseason? He is so not-fun to play against. And the Stars have players like Alex Radulov who run you over and Jamie Benn who punch you in the face.

Dallas is a skill team with some grit, and that can be a deadly combination. We’ve seen they can score goals. But they can be pests, too.

We don’t exactly have a Perry, but apparently both Matt Calvert and Nazem Kadri have been known to get under your skin, not to mention Nikita Zadorov. Gabriel Landeskog will throw a punch. And we all celebrate Nathan MacKinnon rag dolling Christian Fishcher.

Next. 30% of Goals Scored by New Avs. dark

The Colorado Avalanche can beat the Dallas Stars. Yes, they failed to do so in the regular season. However, that was months ago. Just a couple weeks ago, they beat the Stars in the round robin. This also marks the fifth time the two teams have met in the playoffs — and the Avalanche won the last two series.

Time to make it three in a row.

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