The Colorado Avalanche will take on the Dallas Stars on Friday night at American Airlines Center. This Central Division matchup has serious implications as both clubs are tied for third. The winner will skate way with sole possession of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
However, Friday night’s game is not the first time the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have played big games. In fact, we have to go all the way back to 1979 when the Avalanche played as the original Quebec Nordiques and the Dallas Stars played as the Minnesota North Stars.
In total, the two teams have met 156 times, with the Avs showing a 76-57-12-11 mark. Please keep in mind that the third column accounts for overtime losses, and the fourth column accounts for ties.
Yes, that’s right.
Way back in the day, the NHL had ties. Games would go into overtime, and if no one scored, the game would end in a tie. The league would eventually move to the 3-on-3 overtime and shootout to decide a winner in order to boost ratings and generate more excitement.
Anyhow, looking at more recent history, the Avalanche have a slight edge over the Stars. Colorado is 13-12 against Dallas, including playoffs, dating back to the 2020 bubble playoffs. The Avs beat the Stars 4-0 in which Pavel Francouz got the shutout.
Since then, games have been relatively close. The only games which could be considered blowouts were in last year’s playoffs in which the Avs lost 4-1 and 5-1.
First meeting between Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars this season
The Avalanche and Stars have not met since the Stars bounced the Avalanche last spring. As such, Friday night’s game will be the Avs’ first chance to get revenge. As a matter of fact, the numbers look good for the Avs.
In their last 25 regular season meetings, the Avs have a 13-9-3 mark. The Avs had won four in a row against Dallas until the Stars won the last regular season meeting on April 7 of this year. Dallas took that game 7-4.
The Avalanche have a slight edge in goals, 76-73, with 13 coming with the man advantage in 83 chances. However, the Avs have also given up 17 power play tallies against Dallas in 80 chances.
As you can see, Dallas and Colorado are quite even historically. Neither of the teams has a significant edge over the other. Therefore, Friday night’s game will be an interesting one. There is no doubt the game has serious implications in the standings. Plus, bragging rights are on the line.