Well, that is not what any of us were expecting — and it is still a little bit of a shock.
I even hate having to write this recap, but we just have to rip off the bandaid, no matter how much it hurts.
The Colorado Avalanche have officially been eliminated from the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs after falling to the Dallas Stars 5–4 in overtime. In what could only be described as a back and forth affair all game lone, the Stars had the last laugh as they tallied the game-winner, punching their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, where they will face the Vegas Golden Knights.
Kicking off the opening frame, the Avs would fall behind after Stars forward Alexander Radulov tallied his first goal of the game on the powerplay to give the Stars the 1-0 lead. Not long after, the Avalanche came up with the equalizer as Avs forward Vladislav Namestnikov tallied the equalizer.
One of the main players who piqued my interest early into the game was Avs forward Logan O’Connor. Just like the past couple of games, O’Connor seemed to be relentless on the puck, and he was getting rewarded with some opportune chances, including a near goal in the early minutes of the opening frame.
As time continued to dwindle in the first period, the Stars attempted a breakout of their own zone — but Avs forward Andre Burakovsky anticipated the pass, intercepted it, and promptly sniped it past Anton Khudobin to give the Avs the 2–1 lead into the second period.
The second period continued to be another back and forth affair like the first period, as the Stars came up with the equalizer with Stars forward Antii Kiviranta tallying his first goal of the game. With the score now tied, the Avalanche would head onto the powerplay, something they have struggled within this series, where Avs forward Nazem Kadri tallied a goal of his own, giving the Avs the 3–2 advantage to head into the third period.
PING!
Kadri almost had his 2nd today on the PP #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/UVnIDtDTyF— Fuck Dave Portnoy ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) September 4, 2020
Similar to the first couple of periods, the final frame continued to be a back and forth affair as the Stars tallied the equalizer off the stick of Radulov early into the period. There would be no quit from the Avalanche, however, as Namestnikov tallied his second goal of the game to help the Avs regain the one-goal lead — but that would be short-lived as only 10 seconds later Kiviranta would tally his second goal of the game to force overtime.
In the sudden-death period, Kiviranta would complete the hat trick to help the Stars advance to the Western Conference Finals, where they will play the Vegas Golden Knights or the Vancouver Canucks.
So whats next? Nothing on the Avalanche front, as they have officially been eliminated from the 2020 Stanley cup Playoffs. However, you can expect plenty of offseason content from our team as the Avs set their sights on Lord Stanley next season.