The Dallas Stars will play against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in American Airlines Center for Game 2 of the NHL Playoffs second round.
The Stars will try to bounce back recuperate after a 4-3 overtime loss where they were ahead 3-0 at the end of the first period before allowing four unanswered goals.
The Stars and the Avalanche had different first-round series, with the Stars needing seven games to defeat the Las Vegas Golden Knights, while the Avalanche easily beat the Winnipeg Jets in five games.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer expressed contentment with the team's start in the first period, but was concerned that tiredness from the previous seven-game series may have impacted their performance. He emphasized the need to eliminate mental errors to win the series. surprised that tiredness affected their performance following the previous seven-game series.
“They’re a quick-strike team. You can’t make mistakes in those situations. It’s a tough lesson to learn in Game 1, but glad you’re not learning it in Game 6 or 7 in an elimination game,” he said, according to ESPN.
Dallas will now attempt to level the series with a Game 2 win, with a possibly revised game plan.
Key factors for victory in Game 2 will be power play chances and physicality, as the Avalanche outperformed the Stars in both areas in the series opener.
Despite the Stars having four advantages during Game 1 due to Colorado penalties, they only managed to score on one of these opportunities.
Conversely, the Avalanche scored on both of their power play opportunities, which significantly aided their comeback in the game.
Similarly, Colorado played a more physical game than the Stars, with 46 hits compared to the Stars' 20 hits.
Dallas will likely seek to reverse these two statistics in their favor for Game 2, potentially providing motivation to lead them to victory.
The Stars have been guided this postseason by center Wyatt Johnston, who has contributed five goals and three assists in their eight games.
One of the most crucial players for the Stars in these games has been goalie Jake Oettinger, who consistently faced a high number of shots on goal and stopped 91.5% of them. saved Leading into Game 2, Stars center Matt Duchene stated that the team must come out
with an aggressive approach to win and give themselves a chance as they head back to Colorado. “We’re a great road team and if we put ourselves in a position to go to Denver 1-1, I think that gives us a good chance. We’re confident on the road. We’re good there,” he said, according to NHL.
“They’re great at home, but you have to have it here next game. I think Game 2 against Vegas we were probably the better team and didn’t get the result. But we have to make sure we get it next game.”
The Dallas Stars are set to face off against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in American Airlines Center for Game 2 of the second round of the NHL Playoffs. The Stars will attempt to bounce back after a 4-3 overtime loss in which they led 3-0 at the end of the first […]
