Rantanen, Stars stun Colorado Avalanche in Game 3

Former Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen and teammates stunned the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 at Ball Arena on Wednesday night, winning by a score of 2-1 in overtime.

Tyler Seguin ended the game at the 5:31 mark of overtime with his second goal of the series. The goal came moments after the Dallas Stars killed off a four-minute double minor late in the third period.

Here’s a look at the game-winner:

The play started with Rantanen chipping the puck out of the Dallas end, leading to a rush by Mason Marchment. Marchment, who had gotten the double-minor for high-sticking on Brock Nelson, made a terrific play to get the puck back to a streaking Seguin who did not miss the scoring chance.

Ball Arena went completely silent as the shell-shocked crowd could not believe the blue and green jerseys celebrating on the ice.

The Avalanche led for most of the night, but eventually surrendered the lead in the third period after taking back-to-back penalties. Dallas captain Jamie Benn tied the game at the 9:18 mark of the third with a power play marker.

The game was tight down the stretch, but ended up going to overtime. The Avalanche had more than three minutes of power play time to open the extra frame, coming awfully close to winning the game.

Artturi Lehkonen nearly ended the game had it not been for this brilliant save from Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell:

Lindell got a glove on the shot with the open net, saving the game for Dallas. All told, the Avalanche went 0-for-6 on the power play, allowing the Stars to get back into the game and walk away with a 2-1 series lead.

Ineffective power play biggest culprit in loss to Dallas Stars

The Colorado Avalanche went 0-for-6 on the power play against the Dallas Stars in Game 3, including the botched double-minor at the end of the third-beginning of overtime.

That situation won’t cut it in the 2025 NHL playoffs, especially when facing a team like the Stars. The fact of the matter is that the Avalanche needs to do better on the power play. Had the Avalanche scored in any of the six chances they had with the man advantage, they would have won the game.

Colorado, instead, allowed the Stars to kill off their power play chances and take back the momentum in the game. That’s precisely what made the difference in overtime in Game 3. The Stars became emboldened by the huge penalty, leading the Marchement, the man who got the double minor, to eventually set up the game-winner.

The Avalanche are far from done in this series. A win on Friday night evens the series and turns it into a best of three, but in order for that to happen, the power play needs to get back on track asap.

The margin for error now is razor-thin as the Avs literally play for their season.