The Dallas Stars scored early and often in a 6-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche at American Airlines Center on Monday evening. The Stars lead the Western Conference quarterfinal series, three games to two. The scene shifts back to Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday. The injured Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson have yet to play in the series.
Wyatt Johnston tallied two goals for the Stars. Mikko Rantanen enjoyed a three-point night (one goal, two assists). Roope Hintz added a goal and an assist. Thomas Harley and Mason Marchment also scored. Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger made 26 saves on 28 shots.
Johnston got Dallas off to fast start, scoring just nine seconds into the first period. Johnston retrieved a dump-in and caught a lucky bounce from a sharp angle. The puck went off Colorado goalie Mackenzie Blackwood’s side and bounced into the net.
The Stars benefited from more puck luck in the final 45 seconds of the opening period. Blackwood made a blocker save on Harley’s shot from the deep slot. The airborne rebound bounced off Blackwood’s back and landed in the net for a 2-0 lead.
Dallas turned a transition rush into a three-goal advantage 72 seconds into the middle frame. On a 2-on-1 counterattack, Hintz fed Rantanen at the back post. The Finn-to-Finn connection gave Blackwood little chance of keeping his team from a huge deficit.
Colorado shaved off two-thirds of the deficit on goals by Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon (5th goal of the series). The real killer for Colorado: Dallas struck for late second period goals (16:48 on the power play and 18:32) by Johnston and Marchment. As a result, the Stars took a 5-2 into the third period not long after the Avalanche made it a one-goal game.
Scott Wedgewood (eight saves) relieved Blackwood (13 saves on 18 shots) at the start of the third period. Hintz tacked on an empty net goal at 17:55 to round out the scoring.
DALLAS STARTING LINEUP (Game 5)
64 Mikael Granlund – 24 Roope Hintz – 96 Mikko Rantanen
27 Mason Marchment – 95 Matt Duchene – 91 Tyler Seguin
14 Jamie Benn – 53 Wyatt Johnston – 63 Evgenii Dadonov
10 Oskar Back – 18 Sam Steel – 15 Colin Blackwell
23 Esa Lindell – 44 Cody Ceci
55 Thomas Harley – 46 Ilya Lyubushkin
6 Lian Bichsel – 28 Alex Petrovic
29 Jake Oettinger
[1 Casey DeSmith]
