DALLAS — Just when Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche cracked the door open for a potential comeback Monday night, the Dallas Stars slammed it shut.
And now the Avs are back in the same spot they were a year ago, staring at elimination with Game 6 awaiting at Ball Arena.
Wyatt Johnston scored his first two goals of the series, and old friend Mikko Rantanen added a goal and two assists as the Stars rebounded from their worst game with their best, a 6-2 win in Game 5 at American Airlines Center. Dallas now leads the series 3-2, and has the first of two opportunities to knock Colorado out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in six seasons Thursday night back in Denver.
“Obviously we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “Started scratching and clawing our way back into it. I thought we were starting to play really well. Then a couple calls goes against us and we make a couple of bad decisions, give up some odd-man rushes and stuff. So some of those (are) self-inflicted tonight.
“Short memory. Learn from it. Move on.”
It looked like one of those nights for the Avs after the Stars built a 3-0 lead just 1:12 into the second period, but the top line dragged Colorado back into the fight. Goals by Artturi Lehkonen and MacKinnon just 2:37 apart left the Avalanche down one goal with 5:22 remaining in the second.
A costly penalty by defenseman Sam Malinski led to a power-play goal, and by the second intermission Dallas had regained its three-goal advantage. Devon Toews’ stick broke during the ensuing penalty kill, and the Stars took full advantage with Johnston’s second goal of the night.
“You got to play the game the way it is,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We made some mistakes. I just don’t love (that call), that puck’s getting passed to the slot and Sam’s in a position where he’s got to play the guy and he tries to jump by him. It’s a tough call when you look at some of the physicality that’s going on at and away from the puck on us to get that interference call.”
Mason Marchment added another with 1:28 left in the period, getting his stick on a knuckling shot from the right point and deflecting it past Blackwood.
The Avs were not happy with several calls, both made and not, in this game. The Malinski penalty was clearly a turning point. Later Josh Manson was upset when he felt Stars captain Jamie Benn skated into his stick, but he was called for high-sticking.
Parker Kelly was also tackled trying to get to a rebound at the edge of the crease, but no penalty was assessed.
“Couple of those are preseason calls, but regardless, we’ve got to fight through it and keep playing,” Landeskog said. “And we weren’t able to get the kill, unfortunately.”
Scott Wedgewood replaced Blackwood to start the third period, after the latter allowed five goals on 18 shots in the first 40 minutes. Blackwood entered the day leading the 2025 playoffs in save percentage and second in goals against average.
The Avalanche allowed the two quirkiest goals of the series to dig its first two-goal deficit of the series in the opening period.
Stars defenseman Cody Ceci attempted a simple dump-in after Dallas won the opening faceoff of the game, but the puck hit Evgenii Dadonov’s skate and went high in the air. For a brief moment, the only skater on the ice who knew where it was going — into the corner to the left of Blackwood — was Johnston.
He got a headstart on tracking it down, fired it at the net from an awkward angle and it went off the Avalanche goalie and into the net to give Dallas the lead just nine seconds into this contest.
The rest of the first period was a perfectly solid road showing for the visitors. Colorado created a bunch of quality looks. Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger was sharp in net.
Rantanen scored his first career playoff goal not in a Colorado uniform just 1:12 into the second period. Colorado’s second line had a strong shift, creating multiple chances in the Dallas end, but the Stars counter-attacked well, creating a 2-on-1. Roope Hintz was able to get the puck through to Rantanen, who buried the one-timer.
“We weren’t great on the defensive side of things. Some decision-making,” Bednar said. “I just thought first period, not sharp enough on the defensive side of things. But (a) couple strange goals in there that you’re trying to dig out from so there has to be an element of risk in your game.
“I still think there’s some good things that we did on the offensive side of things and we got to get back to that game we played the other night. They took care of their home ice and now we got to go take care of ours.”
Dallas coach Peter DeBoer challenged his top players through the media the morning of Game 5. The Stars’ stars responded in emphatic fashion.
Now, just as they did leading into Game 4, the Avs have an extra day off to reset after a loss. That was Colorado’s best game of the series.
The Avs have not defeated the Stars in back-to-back playoff contests since Games 5 and 6 in 2020. That is now their only path forward that doesn’t include another early postseason exit and a long summer of hard questions.
“You can’t have guys having bad nights this time of the year,” Bednar said. “You’ve heard me say it all along, it’s going to come down to playing good teams that finish in similar spots in the standings, so you’ve got to go play your best hockey for two weeks in order to win, right? If you’ve got good players having bad nights, it’s not your best hockey. (If) you’re firing on all cylinders the other night, like Game 3 and Game 4, things start to look a lot better.”
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Originally Published: April 28, 2025 at 10:29 PM MDT
