Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
1. Avs couldn’t match Stars’ desperation: Lousy ice. Lousy finish. Mackenzie Blackwood and Logan O’Connor deserved so much better. Fortunately, they’ll have time for redemption. The Stars are a little like an MMA fighter who, paradoxically, somehow fights better when their back’s against the canvas. Dallas had lost its last eight Game 1s, including the one that lifted the curtain on last spring’s West semifinal tussle with the Avs. The Stars had rallied from an 0-2 series hole against Vegas in the first round of the ’24 Cup playoffs. But DeBoer knew Monday that even puck luck can be pressed. In its previous 10 series while facing an 0-2 hole, Dallas had lost nine straight before that Knights comeback, and none of those series went longer than six games. The Avalanche have home ice back, but it’s all on the table now.
2. Stars brain cramp, MacKinnon shines: Want to give Nathan MacKinnon space? Please. Please, Dallas. More of that. Eight minutes into Game 2, Dallas’ Mason Marchment got beat by Miles Wood up the right boards, flailed with his stick, and drew a two-minute tripping call. The fun part? The Stars’ special teams almost immediately fell asleep. MacKinnon found himself hovering all alone at the left faceoff circle with all kinds of space — like 10 feet of space. And all kinds of time. So much time, in fact, that the reigning Hart Trophy winner pumped his stick at least twice before firing a wrister past Jake Oettinger’s glove and into the net for a 1-0 Colorado lead. It was the Avs’ second goal on their first five attempts with the extra man. Meanwhile, two of the Stars’ first three goals in the series had come on the power play.
3. Landeskog scratched, Bednar playing mind games?: Remember the part about Gabe Landeskog making his long-awaited Avs return in Game 2? Yeah, not so fast, my friend. The Avs’ captain, who hasn’t played in an NHL game since June 2022 because of repeated surgeries on his knee, went full-go during morning skate, then suited up and warmed up during pregame Monday as the team announced his activation from Injured Reserve. And then … hold your horses. When the lights came on at around 7:50 Monday night, Landy was in street clothes. The veteran winger was a last-minute scratch that was so last-minute, he was in the roster of “available” players distributed to media just before the contest. So the eyes on the Captain shift to Game 3 in Denver on Wednesday night, which would be … well, something, wouldn’t it? Apparently, NFL front offices aren’t the only ones playing mind games with their opponents this week.