DALLAS — With their season on the line, the Avalanche leaned on their championship experience to force a Game 6. But they didn’t just rely on their winning pedigree. Instead, it was how it felt to lose a Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead that helped shape their victory on Wednesday.
Colorado came into American Airlines Center in Dallas and defeated the higher-seeded Stars 5-3. Now, the top seed in the Central Division has to fly back to Denver for Game 6. And the pressure is on them to end the series on the road or it’s winner-take-all on Sunday.
“We know how it felt after we lost to St. Louis when we were up 3-1. Felt like the world was ending,” star center Nathan MacKinnon said, referring back to the second round in 2022. “Same thing against Tampa in the finals. It’s a lot.
“Obviously we won Game 6’s, but it doesn’t feel great when you let a team back in so our job is to put a little pressure on them.”
Colorado gave up the first goal again but didn’t let up. The resiliency of its top stars was on full displace. Not only did MacKinnon pitch in with a goal and an assist. But top defenseman Cale Makar took his game to another level. Coming off three straight games without a point — the longest stretch of his young playoff career — Makar scored twice, including the game-winner.
Makar spent most of the night creating plays both for himself and his teammates. He led the charge on a lethal power play that also bounced back in a huge way. Colorado scored on its first two man-advantage opportunities, both of which he played a part in.
“Moving feet and quick, quick puck movement,” Makar said, describing what made the PP so efficient. “I felt like once we were getting pucks, it was right on and off the stick and trying to avoid a little bit of their pressure.”
Dallas got the first goal for the fifth time in the series. And it was all thanks to an aggressive forecheck from Jason Robertson. The young forward poked the puck away from Avs blueliner Josh Manson behind his goal and Matt Duchene quickly sent it out in front for Joe Pavelski to score. It was Pavelski’s first goal of the series.
But the Avs responded narrowly before the period ended. Winger Artturi Lehkonen received a pass from MacKinnon and wired it home on the power play with 0.6 seconds remaining. For the first time all series, Colorado wasn’t trailing entered a first or second intermission.
Despite the Stars scoring again to take a 2-1 lead, Colorado still did not let up.
Makar’s late second-period tally on the power play tied things up, setting up a crucial third period with the game knotted up at 2-2. But still, Colorado had yet to play with the lead.
“I feel during the regular season, and even in this playoffs, we’ve been finding good ways to come back and win games when we’re down in the game,” Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev said. “so I felt confident in our group.”
Colorado weathered an early storm from Dallas, who had the first four shots of the third period. Then, a strong forechecking play by Zach Parise kept the puck deep in the Stars’ zone. Parise tipped it back to Samuel Girard, whose shot was blocked and ended up back on Parise’s stick. The veteran forward batted the puck through the crease and center Casey Mittelstadt banked it in off goalie Jake Oettinger to make it 3-2.
The Avalanche finally had a lead.
“To get our first lead of the series … Now they gotta push,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Like, we haven’t forced them throughout the course of this series to push and have to try and create.”
Just over three minutes later, the Avs added to the lead. Makar entered the zone and whistled past Tyler Seguin and found a lane toward the goal. With Lehkonen in front setting up a decoy as a pass option, Makar caught Oettinger by surprise, beating him five-hole on a shot that deflected off the stick of Stars defenseman Thomas Harley.
Dallas eventually got one back but MacKinnon sealed the win with a late tally to make it 5-3.
The Avs have yet to win a game at Ball Arena in this series. They scored just two goals in two games at home. If that changes in Game 6, Colorado could be in for a winner-take-all on Sunday. That game would be back in Dallas, where the Avs have scored 12 goals in three games in the series.
