The Dallas Stars will be hosting the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the second round of the NHL Playoffs on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Center.
The two teams are coming off contrasting first-round series. The Stars required all seven games to beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights, while the Avalanche dominated the Winnipeg Jets in a high-scoring five-game series. Stars needed all seven games to defeat the Las Vegas Golden Knights, while the Avalanche dismantled the Winnipeg Jets in a high-scoring five-game series.
During their first series, Dallas was led by center Wyatt Johnston, who scored a total of four goals and added three assists. team-high Defenseman Miro Heiskanen was the leading assist provider for the team during the series, while also averaging a team-high of 27 minutes and 26 seconds on the ice per game.
Goalie Jake Oettinger was one of the standout players for the Stars in the first series, saving 92.5% of the shots and limiting the Golden Knights to an average of 2.29 goals per game.
One of the most impactful players during the Stars’ first series was goalie Jake Oettinger, who saved 92.5% of the shots sent his way and held the Golden Knights to 2.29 goals per game.
Stars Head Coach Pete Deboer commented on the challenge posed by the Avalanche, expressing gratitude for starting the series in Dallas and noting the team's challengeearning of the home-ice advantage.
“I think that home ice and getting the first seed in the conference is going to be helpful, but it’s going to be a quick turnaround. We’re probably going to struggle with some fatigue at different points, but we have some depth, and we’ll see how it goes,” Deboer added, according to the NHL.
Dallas struggled against the Avalanche during the regular season, ending with a 1-3 record in four matchups.
The singular win came during a 7-4 victory in Colorado on April 7, the pair’s final meeting during the regular season.
Though regular season games do not predict the outcome of the second round, Oettinger noted the team's confidence in their performance in the last matchup and their intention to emulate reproduce what was successful.
“We should feel confident in what we just did. We showed that we can play that way or the more up-tempo game I’m guessing we’ll be getting from them. A couple of adjustments and let’s roll,” he said, per the NHL.
These adjustments will be crucial for the Stars in this series, as the Avalanche plays one of the fastest styles in the NHL.
The Avalanche scored five or more goals in each of its five games against the Jets in the first round, with right-wing Valeri Nichushkin scoring a remarkable seven goals in the series.
