Avalanche Looks to Extend Series in Game 5

The Colorado Avalanche needs a win on Monday in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars in order to extend its second-round series. The Stars won 5-4 on Sunday and lead the best-of-seven set 3-1.
After Dallas stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on Sunday, Colorado dominated the second frame. Valeri Nichushkin put the Avs on the scoreboard with his first goal of the night and then Cale Makar recorded his third tally of the postseason, scoring on a 5-on-3 power play with 26 seconds remaining in the period.
The Stars responded with two more markers in the third frame to take a 5-2 lead before Colorado narrowed the gap once again with Nichushkin and Vladislav Namestnikov finding the back of the net. Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz started the game and made 21 saves before Michael Hutchinson saw his first playoff action and stopped all three shots he faced in the final half of the third period.

Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars | Game 5

Rogers Place | Edmonton, Alberta
| Game Time: | 7:45 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, Official app, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app (blackouts apply) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | Virtual GameDay, Digital Arena, Playoff Central, @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-DALLAS CONNECTIONS

Valeri Nichushkin was selected in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars and played four seasons with the franchise… Colorado defenseman Kevin Connauton spent parts of two seasons with the Stars (2013-15)… Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor was born in Missouri City, Texas… Dallas forward Blake Comeau played for Colorado from 2015-2018… Stars goaltender Ben Bishop was born in Denver.

HISTORY

The Stars have scored five goals in each of their victories in the second round and are up 3-1 in the series following their 5-4 win on Sunday. Colorado won 6-4 on Wednesday in Game 3 after Dallas won 5-3 in Game 1 and 5-2 in Game 2.
Nathan MacKinnon leads all players in the series with eight points (three goals, five assists) after notching an assist in Game 4, while Jamie Benn tops all Dallas scorers with seven points (two goals, five assists) and scored in Sunday's contest.
The Avs beat the Stars 4-0 on Aug. 5 in round-robin play during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist), Joonas Donskoi (one goal, one assist) and Samuel Girard (two assists) each turned in two-point efforts, and Pavel Francouz became the first goalie in franchise history to post a shutout in his first playoff start.
Colorado went 0-2-2 against the Stars in the regular season. The Avs lost the first two in November in regulation before dropping the next two by 3-2 scores in extra time, the first in a shootout and the second in the overtime period. MacKinnon led the team with three points (one goal, two assists) against Dallas, while J.T. Compher scored two goals against the Stars in 2019-20. Matt Nieto and Cale Makar each recorded two assists in the season series.
The Avalanche holds a 69-53-23 all-time mark against Dallas in the regular season, with a 46-35-19 record since moving to Denver in 1995. The Avs and Stars have played four times in the playoffs, with each team winning twice. Colorado has won the last two series in five games, both in the conference quarterfinals in 2004 and 2006. Dallas won in seven games in both the 1999 and 2000 Western Conference Finals.

ROSTER REPORT

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar did not give any lineup details, including staring goaltender, following Game 4. He did say that injured players Matt Calvert, Joonas Donskoi, Philipp Grubauer and Erik Johnson are all unavailable for Monday's contest.

SCOUTING THE STARS

The Stars have 19 goals in the second round, the most in the NHL. Dallas has also converted on 35.7 percent of its power plays this series, up from 25 percent overall in the playoffs. The Stars have killed 82.4 percent of shorthanded situations in the last four games, compared to 76.7 percent through round-robin play and the first round.
Miro Heiskanen leads the team with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in the postseason, followed by Jamie Benn with 11 (four goals, seven assists). Goaltender Anton Khudobin has a 7-4 record, .911 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average in the postseason

(AVS) PLAYER TO WATCH: Mikko Rantanen

Mikko Rantanen recorded another assist in Game 4, helping to facilitate Cale Makar's 5-on-3 goal, and he now has six points (two goals, four assists) in the series. Rantanen has also played a total of 19:34 on the power play in the series, the most on the team.
Overall in the playoffs, Rantanen has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists), second-most on the Avalanche behind Nathan MacKinnon (21). He is on a seven-game point streak (four goals, seven assists).

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: John Klingberg

John Klingberg opened the scoring in Game 4 with his first goal of the series and also added an assist in the contest. He now has three points in the second round (one goal, two assist) and 10 points in the playoffs (two goals, eight assists)
He leads all Stars defensemen in ice time on the power play in the series, averaging 3:23 against the Avs.

NUMBERS GAME

2

Colorado is playing its second back-to-back set of the postseason, the first time the franchise has played multiple consecutive-day contests in the playoffs since moving to Denver in 1995.

7

Nazem Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon's seven goals during the postseason are the most by Colorado skaters since Joe Sakic also recorded seven in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

8

The Avalanche has eight second-period goals this series, the most in the NHL in the second round.

24:57

Cale Makar is averaging 24:57 on the ice in this series, the second-most minutes for any player in the second round.

NOTEBOOK

Colorado split its first back-to-back in the 2020 playoffs in Games 2-3 of the first round against the Arizona Coyotes… With an assist in Game 4, Nathan MacKinnon extended his franchise-record point streak to 12 games… MacKinnon leads the NHL in playoff scoring with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists)... Valeri Nichushkin recorded his first career multi-point game in the playoffs in Game 3, with his two tallies being his first since 2014… Andre Burakovsky assisted on two goals in Game 4, his third multi-point effort this postseason and the eighth of his career… After posting a goal and an assist in Game 4, Cale Makar has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) this postseason, the most for an Avs blueliner in the playoffs since Greg deVries in 2002).