Takeaways: Bounces side with Avalanche in Game 1 win over Stars
Hockey has a sense of humour sometimes. And on Saturday night, the Avalanche got the first and last laugh in a 5-1 road victory.
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Sometimes the bounces go your way. Other times, they hit the moving foot of a falling Avalanche forward and soar over your right shoulder and into the net.
In a matchup featuring so many players on both sides capable of deking and dazzling their way onto the highlight reels, of course the first goal of the first game of the first-round series between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche Saturday night should be scored on a flukey, funky, kick-that-wasn’t-a-kick that had everyone studying the slo-mo replay again and again.
Hockey has a sense of humour sometimes. And on Saturday night, the Avalanche got the first and last laugh in a 5-1 road victory. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and had a helper to lead the team, though this lopsided win wasn’t actually as big a blowout as the score suggests. The tight-checking, hard-hitting first frame brought a frenetic pace and no goals, and the second featured more of the same until the Avalanche pounced on a little puck luck to take a 2-0 lead.
Let’s start there as we recap our top takeaways from Game 1.
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Oettinger on losing end of puck-luck battle
Thanks to Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen’s series-opening goal in the second period, we all just got a crash course in what does and does not constitute a “distinct kicking motion.” As Lehkonen was near the net to follow up a rebound, he went tumbling backwards as he got tangled up with Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque. At the same time, the puck bounced towards his left foot, which was in mid-air and going up as Lehkonen went crashing down, and careened off his skate.
Yes, his foot was moving when the puck hit it. Yes, the force of that movement sent the puck perfectly past Oettinger. No, it wasn’t a purposeful motion (despite a slight resemblance to a Premier League bicycle kick). So, yes, it was a goal.
And unfortunately for Oettinger, it wasn’t the only unlucky bounce for the Stars netminder. Later in the second period, with Colorado on the power play after Roope Hintz was hit with a double minor for a high-stick against Nathan MacKinnon that drew blood, MacKinnon fired a snapshot through traffic that deflected off Dallas’ Ilya Lyubushkin. With Lyubushkin accidentally altering the puck’s power and trajectory, it fluttered beneath Oettinger’s glove, almost like a change-up puck, and went in. That goal technically counted as the game-winner. Although the Stars attempted a comeback in the third period to make it 2-1, courtesy of a Hintz power-play goal of his own, the Avalanche ran away with the game late in the third with three goals (including one empty-netter) to put it out of reach.
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No playoff experience? No problem for Mackenzie Blackwood
Considering Colorado’s recent playoff success, headlined by hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022, there’s a lot of post-season experience up and down this Avalanche roster. That doesn’t extend to the crease, though. Through his first six NHL seasons — five in New Jersey, followed by a year and a half in San Jose — goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood never appeared in the post-season. When the Avalanche acquired him via a December goalie swap that saw Alexandar Georgiev sent to the Sharks as part of the return, there were a few question marks about whether Blackwood would be up to the task of backstopping a club with such high expectations.
If his Game 1 performance is any indication, he’ll be just fine.
Against the Stars on Saturday night, Blackwood was the picture of playoff poise. The 28-year-old let just a single puck past him on 24 shots, his Game 1 shutout bid lasting until 6:45 into the third frame. After thwarting Dallas through two periods, Blackwood was foiled by a Roope Hintz shot from the point late in the Stars’ power play. It was an unlucky sequence for Blackwood, who lost his stick seconds earlier when it got caught in the netting. He didn’t stand much of a chance after that.
Bad bounces are bound to happen — just ask Blackwood’s counterpart at the opposite end of the rink. But the way Blackwood was able to lock down the blue paint, including tracking rebounds the Stars were quick to pounce on, was really impressive.
“When you have a guy like that back there, that gives you that confidence,” Avalanche defenceman Cale Maker told reporters post-game, praising his net minder’s “calm” presence. “He definitely showed up tonight.”
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Stars without Heiskanen and Robertson, and it shows
As Dallas and Colorado collided for Game 1, one of the biggest stories was surrounding the players not on the ice. While the Avalanche enter the post-season in good health, the Stars have not been so lucky.
Top defenceman Miro Heiskanen hasn’t played since late January, and while there’s hope we could see him soon — his status is now day-to-day as he’s been skating — it’s still unclear when he’ll be able to play. Dallas played a well-structured defensive game, strong on the puck and physical, but clearly missed their star puck-moving rearguard.
The absence of top forward Jason Robertson felt equally obvious, but even more ominous considering the team’s leading scorer is listed as week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury in a meaningless Game 82.
Dallas managed just a single goal Saturday night, unable to keep pace in what devolved into a lopsided scoring race without their No. 1 guy.
Meanwhile, for Colorado, the biggest lineup question is about whether we could see captain Gabriel Landeskog inserted into this series. The fact that he’s an option is amazing, and one of the best stories this spring.
The last time we saw Landeskog on NHL ice, he was hoisting the Stanley Cup after helping lead the Avalanche to the top of the hockey world. Multiple knee surgeries, followed by two years of rehabilitation, came after that. He was given a short AHL stint earlier this month to help ramp him up, but we have yet to know if we’ll see him in the Avalanche’s lineup sometime soon.
