💢 2023-24 Round 2, West Semi Finals: (C3) Colorado Avalanche at (C1) Dallas Stars 💫 (DAL WINS 4-2)

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

                                           

 

At the start of this set:

COLORADO AVALANCHE
GF/G:  5.6,   GA/G:  3.0
PP%:  37.5,   PK%:  76.9

Won their first round against the Winnipeg Jets 4-1

 

 

DALLAS STARS
GF/G:  2.29,   GA/G:  2.29

PP%:  28.6,   PK%:  75.0

Won their first round against the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3

 

 

Only two thirds of the three headed Central monster (with WPG now being lopped off!), and the Avalanche once again look to cannibalize their division brethren and move on to the West Finals.

Avs have looked very strong offensively, which is to no one's surprise, but what might be is how they  handled a pretty rugged Winnipeg squad in the first round. The 'Peg seemed all about grinding, hitting, defense and goaltending....and Colorado didn't seem to care.

Well, guess what? Dallas is all about grinding, hitting, defense, and goaltending. So does that mean the 'Lanche will waltz right through them too?
I mean, there IS a reason the Stars won their division......they are a bit more versatile than the Jets with regards as to what kind of game they can play.

Special teams will play a big part in determining who dominates in this set. Both PP's are pretty good, and both those good PP's will be going against PK units on the other side, that, to this point, have been average or even below average.
Dallas WILL have to play a disciplined and well executed style, let's not kid ourselves about that.

While the Avs can be exploited at their own end, their powerful ability to score (highest on a per game basis than all other teams in the playoffs), can oftentimes cover up any deficiencies elsewhere.

Games are kept close, Stars have more than a shot. Games become loose, fly-by-the-crotch-of-your-jockstrap, and that will likely favor the Avalanche.
Oddsmakers probably like Colorado as the favorite here, but, it also wouldn't surprise me if the Stars made this series their own and ousted the Avs.
Yea, yea....I thought the same in the last set with WPG moving on.
But hey, it's a NEW DAY...a NEW round.... a new....ehhhhh, just watch the series, ya?  

Avs, Stars....series talk right here!

Edited May 18 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[yave1964]

Colorado had the worst home/road split of any playoff team, i feel Dallas steals one in Colorado and takes advantage with a six game win 

[thegx.ca]

Yeah I'm taking Dallas in 6 too last time I severely underestimated them so I'm not making that mistake again...

[mojo1917]

The way the Avs routed the Jets in round one was startling. 

They look fast and dangerous up and down that lineup. 

I think Dallas can beat them but I'm not going to bet on it.

It's my hope this series goes the distance because I think it will be fun to watch. 

 

Edmonton waits for the winner, will whomever advances have anything left for that test?

Edited May 6 by mojo1917

[Brewin Flames]

Stars in six....

 

Avs netminding is perhaps questionable, and ott is getting hot at the right time.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Man...shame on you, Dallas Stars!

I don't care HOW good an offense the Avalanche have, if you are a division champion, if you have then down n out 3-0, you NEED to get the job done.
Somehow, some way, the Stars found a way to lose this one.

[Math]

9 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Man...shame on you, Dallas Stars!

I don't care HOW good an offense the Avalanche have, if you are a division champion, if you have then down n out 3-0, you NEED to get the job done.
Somehow, some way, the Stars found a way to lose this one.

 

Well yeah, shít happens...

 

When Benn missed the wide open net to make it 4-0 with 2 secs remaining in the first, I immediately thought that the 3-0 lead, the worst lead in hockey and more specifically in Stars history, won't be enough. And there it went...

 

It was a curious game, with many bumps and big ups and downs throughout the game. The game started very slowly on the Stars side, like they were the rusted ones, but then they capitalized on every opportunity. That lead came maybe too quickly because that let the Avalanche to be pissed and play hockey like they had nothing to lose. The Stars weren't prepared to that and they played an awful second period, including the first minute of the third where they completely forgot MacKinnon. Surprisingly, they didn't collapse like they used to do and they had the best scoring chances from that point, including in OT.

 

But of course, it's the Stars. They have to lose every game #1, in OT if possible, because that's their trademark. 5-6 huge scoring chances, missed wide open nets, and then one Colorado breakaway on their first rush and poof.

 

Overall it was a tight game but adjustement is really needed. Colorado is completely different than Vegas and it's not favoring Dallas. The Avs are much faster and can score on every opportunity when MacKinnon/Rantanen/Makar are on the ice. Öttinger was the usual Öttinger that we see in games #1 to #3, nothing surprising there, but Georgiev probably played his best game of the season with a stellar .864 in sv% and a bit below 3.00 GAA. I'm worried about the injured Hintz because he isn't doing anything since the postseason started. Shoulder/arm/wrist, upper body for sure. Pavelski is painful to watch as he looks so washed up. Also I'm wondering if they can sustain that 5D rotation.

[Podein25]

5 hours ago, Math said:

I immediately thought that the 3-0 lead, the worst lead in hockey and more specifically in Stars history...

 

Well done

[Math]

Oof, they almost blew it, once again. This time it turned on their favor because they managed to go over the worst 3-goal lead and the Avalanche only had one period left to turn things around.

 

Overall, the Stars were clearly better for the forst two periods. More scoring and high danger chances, they controlled the puck way more often and kept attacking even with the lead while being good on special situations. But again, they missed a ton of breakaways and odd-man rushes anf were a bit on their heels twice in the third period, which immediately led to two Avs goals, and it was to stressing and nail biting. It bent but it held. Both goalies were absolutely great. Hintz surprisingly played like if he was at 100%, Johnston is becoming a Selke-caliber player and Seguin is clicking again. On the other side, very rough game for Duchene and Pavelski. It's sad but Pavelski should the odd-man out if DeBoer goes to another roster change after a loss. He's completely lost and overwhelmed again that skilled and fast Colorado team. 

 

This is so different than the Vegas series. Colorado is relentless and I feel that anytime they want to score, they just push on the accelerator and they get the goal. That's a punch and clutch team compared to the Diesel-balanced Vegas. It's way more fun to watch also. The chess game is over, time for full attack mode. The question for next game is: should the Stars try to get a 17-goal lead to be confident enough or should they stop scoring while keeping on attacking if they have a 2-goal lead...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Those blood doping Stars got a win!

The NHL needs to stop this...STAT!! 

[FD19372]

1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Those blood doping Stars got a win!

The NHL needs to stop this...STAT!! 

Just test Jamie Benn alone lol. He was in Beast Mode last night. In all seriousness, Benn is a player every team in the league, would want.

[Math]

Holy fúck... O_O

 

https://www.tsn.ca/colorado-avalanche-s-valeri-nichushkin-placed-in-stage-3-of-nhl-nhlpa-player-assistance-program-1.2120495?tsn-amp

[Brewin Flames]

 

[mojo1917]

Does any team in the league have a better group of young players than the Dallas Stars?

Stankohven, Johnston, Robertson, Heiskanen, and Harley? Do I include Otteninger in that group? probably, yes. 

 

I mean there are lot of "olds" on that roster, but damn those young guys play fast and with a pile of skill. 

Are they the favorites in the West? 

The playoffs is my first real look at them this year. 

Seems like a good mix of vets and kids, everyone plays a hard game. 

They're really ****** good.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

2 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

Does any team in the league have a better group of young players than the Dallas Stars?

Stankohven, Johnston, Robertson, Heiskanen, and Harley? Do I include Otteninger in that group? probably, yes. 

 

I mean there are lot of "olds" on that roster, but damn those young guys play fast and with a pile of skill. 

Are they the favorites in the West? 

The playoffs is my first real look at them this year. 

Seems like a good mix of vets and kids, everyone plays a hard game. 

They're really ****** good.

 

 

Stars have been pretty good all year, and you are right...they are being lead by the 'young core' because the older vets, while being serviceable for most of the year, and at times, pretty good too, have serioudly taken a back seat to those young guns.

Sure, Dallas, like many other teams, have had their lulls during the year and the playoffs.....that Game 1 loss was atrocious!.... and fossils like Joe Pavelski have completely disappeared from the offensive landscape, but make no mistake, this team looks like it is set pretty well for the rest of these playoffs and into next year as well.

I just wonder what kinds of excuses some Avs fans may be making now....ohhhhhh, yea....blood doping by the Stars...of course...  

But, as always, gotta win that 4th game before we can conclusively say "The Avs are done".

[Math]

Game #3

Overall domination of Colorado but somehow the Stars were able to strike first and not look back. The Avalanche had a strong push but failed to capitalize on the special teams. One would think that Öttinger stole the game (and I was thinking that grabbing the win was on this shoulder) but I wasn't the case, though he remained sharp. The Stars' defensive structure by clogging the neutral zone and pushing Avalanche's players on the side was the key, the same recipe served for Vegas, and it worked. The Stars shouldn't have lost game #1 but Colorado should've won this one. 2-1 in the series makes sense overall.

 

Game #4

This was was absolutely bizarre: I was expecting Colorado to start strong and to be relentless in a game where they had the pressure on. And it was exactly the opposite: the Stars completely dominated the Avs in the first two periods. In the middle of the game, it was 24-4 on SOG and 12-2 in scoring chances. Unbelievable. Makar was a ghost of himself, MacKinnon tried to do everything by himself to salvage this thing with very few success. There was no response whatsoever, like if they were giving up. I'm sure the Nichushkin news shook that locker room.

 

The Colorado bear is wounded, but there's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal...

[Brewin Flames]

I love Wyatt Johnson....

 

Beast mode.

[FD19372]

59 minutes ago, Brewin Flames said:

I love Wyatt Johnson....

 

Beast mode.

Wyatt Johnston is a really impressive, good young player. Dallas has a superb mix of youth and veterans that produce. If Pavelski ever gets going, Dallas has to be the favorite to come out of the West. They have a tremendous chance to win the Cup.

[OccamsRazor]

22 hours ago, Math said:

Colorado bear is wounded

 

Damn just seen this - who takes his place?

 

 

[mojo1917]

@OccamsRazor

Hintze was banged up going into this series. 

This shouldn't be a surprise to the Stars.

 

 

[Math]

2 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

@OccamsRazor

Hintze was banged up going into this series. 

This shouldn't be a surprise to the Stars.

 

Yeap, he was already injured and almost non existant this whole series except game #3.

 

I'm surprised that he's officially injured that late in the season.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Panthers couldn't close yesterday, but can the Stars send the Avalanche packing today?
In front of the home crowd?

We shall see!

[Math]

On the other hand, the Avalanche won't have the home crowd pressure and be booed like it was the case last Monday.

 

Bednar said that he won't limit MacKinnon and Makar's TOI due to the urgency of the situation. This is good, play them 43 minutes at least !

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Stars draw first blood, but is has been all Avalanche the last several minutes, and now, a PP for Colorado
Ryan Suter nailed for holding the stick...cmon, Ryan...you were sneakier about that sort of thing in Minnesota....getting old, are ya? 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Oettinger...too tough...he is just too tough in front of that net!

Literally....bodies everywhere, all over him, and he does NOT lose track of that puck, pounces on it when he gets the chance!