Colorado did come out strong initially, scoring two early goals and dominating early gameplay, but they suffered multiple penalties in the second period which the Stars capitalized on, resulting in four unanswered goals before the end of the second. And, despite a valiant effort by backup goaltender Pavel Francouz, the Avalanche now look to play from behind in their race for the Stanley Cup.

Starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Erik Johnson did not play and, per Bednar, are out indefinitely. In place of Johnson, the Avalanche pulled Eagles defenseman Kevin Connauton into their lineup, who worked hard but could not quite fill the role of Samuel Girard’s defensive partner. Forward Matt Calvert was a scratch for both Game One and Two against the Stars and continues to be day-to-day.

First period

Colorado began the game by putting pucks on net at every single chance they were given, and the scoreboard reflected their intensity. Dallas committed their first of nine penalties at just 5:54 into the period, and the Avs’ top line did not disappoint. Less than 30 seconds into the power play, MacKinnon slapped a beautiful saucer pass from Rantanen into the back of the net. The goal tied MacKinnon with Joe Sakic and Marian Stastny for the longest playoff point streak in franchise history.

Nathan MacKinnon wires home Mikko Rantanen's perfect saucer pass pic.twitter.com/w65AgPQ76Q

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 25, 2020

The Avalanche continued to put pucks on net in the period, with good shot attempts by Ian Cole and exceptional saves by Francouz. A double penalty for roughing on Gabriel Landeskog and Mattias Janmark generated no goals, but the Avs ultimately outshot the Stars 20–6 in the period. They put bodies in front of Stars goalie Anton Khudobin, dominated the crease and killed all three of Dallas’ first-period penalties.

Second period

The quick and aggressive Colorado team from the first period carried over into the first half of the second. After a slashing call on Joe Pavelski against MacKinnon, MacKinnon slipped a pass to Rantanen from behind the net, who shot it high above Khudobin’s right shoulder, and the Avs scored their second power-play goal of the game for a 2–0 lead.

Mikko and Nate on the power play.

It's like we've heard it before!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/RfwNp4Z0a5

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 25, 2020

After the goal, however, the Avalanche’s luck seemed to roll only downhill. The Stars attempted to dislodge a puck that Francouz had already covered, and a fight broke out that resulted only in a slashing penalty on Girard against Corey Perry. Then, at 9:43 into the second period, Cole committed an interference penalty against the Stars, and Pavelski and Radek Faksa scored two goals on the ensuing power play to level the score at 2–2.

The penalties from both teams did not stop there, but Colorado could not capitalize on any of their power plays and the game began to look chippy. At 15:34 into the second period, Dallas deflected a shot into the net over Francouz, putting the Stars up 3–2. With less than three minutes left in the second, Nazem Kadri—who has excelled in the playoffs for the Avalanche this season—left the ice after blocking a shot. He returned to the bench at the start of the third period, ruling out a serious injury. The Stars scored again shortly after, and although the goal was challenged by the Avalanche’s coaching staff, the referee review resulted in a good Dallas goal. The Stars ended the period with a 4–2 lead and having closed the shots-on-goal gap significantly.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/1298100905678692355?s=20

Third period

Despite hopes that the Avalanche would come out swinging in the third period, and despite two Dallas penalties that led to good Avalanche power play opportunities, Colorado continued to choose the extra pass over available shot attempts. The team looked visibly frustrated at times, and despite bursts of physicality and defensive hustle, they could not close Dallas’s goal lead and finished the game down 5–2 after an empty-net goal by Jamie Oleksiak. Although a couple of Stars goals seemed reliant on luck and bad puck bounces, the Avalanche defense ultimately could not immobilize the Dallas offense, and missed shot opportunities resulted in an Avalanche loss.

What’s next

With the Stars up 2–0 in the series, Dallas and Colorado face off for Game Three on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. MDT. Colorado will be playing from behind and looking to close the two-game deficit. Defenseman Erik Johnson will likely miss Game Three as well, and fans should expect Colorado to step up their defensive play in his absence. On stat watch is Nathan MacKinnon, who has scored at least a point in all 10 games the Avalanche have played this postseason and continues to climb the record boards.

The post Despite goals from MacKinnon and Rantanen, Avalanche fall to Stars in Game Two after five unanswered Dallas goals appeared first on The Rink.

Samuel Girard, Nikita Zadorov, and J.T. Compher also contributed goals. The Avalanche scored three of their seven goals on the power play, capitalizing swiftly on Arizona’s mistakes, and killed the only two penalties they took in the game. Goalie Philipp Grubauer saved 23 of 24 shots on goal.

First Period

The Avalanche took advantage of Arizona’s early mistakes, with Kadri scoring a powerplay goal at 15:21 in the first period on assists from Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon. The goal placed Kadri second only to Joe Sakic in powerplay goals scored by an Avalanche player in a single season’s playoffs. The Avs’ powerplay passes also looked sharper than usual this period, and at one point they rearranged their regular positioning so that both MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen set themselves up behind the net, with Landeskog hovering on MacKinnon’s usual left blue circle.

It proved successful, as only four minutes later Girard scored the Avalanche’s second powerplay goal of the game on a quick slap shot from the blue line. Arizona was penalized a third time in the first period for having too many men on the ice, and although the Coyotes killed the penalty, a successive turnover resulted in a breakaway goal for Kadri with only 1:32 left in the period. The Avalanche ended the second period up 3-0 and ahead in shots on goal 12-6.

Naz on a breakaway?

Beautiful. Inspiring. Perfect. Flawless.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/4Yv7iJcOHi

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020

Second Period

The second period started off more slowly than the first, but the lack of action did not last long. The Avalanche demonstrated their depth in period two, with good shot attempts taken by Matt Calvert, Matt Nieto, and Compher. While Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper continued to make great saves, the Coyotes’ defense looked haphazard and the Avalanche never stopped putting pucks on net. Halfway through the second period, MacKinnon fired a one-timer into the back of the net, extending the Avalanche’s lead to 4-0. He was assisted by Rantanen, who passed the puck cleanly through four Coyote players onto MacKinnon’s tape.

This was the goal that Nate scored, right before the other one.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/dNjUrGOpWt

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020

Less than a minute later, the Coyotes were called for a hooking penalty, and MacKinnon scored again on a second one-timer after receiving a quick touch pass by Rantanen. MacKinnon wasn’t finished accumulating points, however, and with 1:44 left in the second, he fired a wrist shot toward the net which was tipped in by Zadorov after a good cut across the slot. The Avalanche ended the period up 6-0, having scored three goals in both periods.

Third Period

Just as in game four, the third period of game five resulted in a single Arizona goal (scored this time by Clayton Keller) to deprive Grubauer of a shutout, as well as a change in net for the Coyotes, who replaced Kuemper with Antti Raanta. The Avalanche took two penalties in the third—one on Tyson Jost for holding and the second on Andre Burakovsky for the same—but killed both of them and continued to dominate the Coyotes both defensively and offensively. The Avalanche also continued to demonstrate their depth when, with 4:41 left in the period, Compher scored on a pass from Nieto from behind the net. Game Five finished similarly to Game Four, with Colorado beating the Coyotes 7-1 and eliminating Arizona from the playoffs.

Nathan MacKinnon:

"Things have changed a lot since (my rookie year)…the message from training camp a year ago now was to just win. Our time has arrived."#Avs

— Scott MacDonald (@0ffScottFree) August 20, 2020

What’s Next

It’s on to round two for the Colorado Avalanche! Colorado’s next playoff opponent will be either the Dallas Stars or the winner of the series between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. Playing against Dallas or St. Louis would see the Avalanche face off with a division rival, and playing against Vancouver would see the Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes matchup many fans have been discussing. Game time is currently TBD, but fans should be looking to the middle of next week in anticipation for game one of round two.

The post Recap: Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 7-1, advance to second round of Stanley Cup Playoffs appeared first on The Rink.