DENVER -- The Dallas Stars will try to put the Colorado Avalanche on the brink of elimination in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at Ball Arena on Monday.
Dallas holds a 2-1 lead in the series after a 4-1 win at Colorado on Saturday. It’s nice to have an edge, but the Stars know that’s about all it amounts to right now.
“I don’t know if you ever have control until you’ve won the fourth game, particularly against a team like that and particularly with how good [the Avalanche] are at home,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “They played really well. I think we played a really smart, detailed road game, gave ourselves a chance to win and found a way to win an important game.
“But the next one’s always the most important, and this series is a long way from over.”
Colorado will try to salvage a split at home after the loss Saturday, which coach Jared Bednar said was its best game of the series thus far and must build on it.
“We’ve got to find ways to, I think, manage the puck better,” Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said. “Obviously we want to play with the puck, but at the same time we’ve got to play our game. So whether it's getting pucks behind them and then making sure that we kind of neutralize their, I don't know, breakout or neutral [zone] stuff like that … but no, for us I think it's just getting back to how we work and how we want to play.”
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:
1. Get on the board first
The Avalanche have yet to lead in regulation in this series, winning Game 1 when forward Miles Wood scored in overtime for a 4-3 victory. They would love to get the advantage early rather than chase, which has been the case thus far.
“I mean, yeah, if we could get the first goal that would be great; [it] doesn't always work out like that,” Colorado forward Zach Parise said. “But I think we all really liked our start last game. We just couldn't find that first goal.
“Most teams play better with the lead, so we'd like to put them under a little pressure and get that first goal. If it doesn't happen I don't think we panic, and again, the way we played last game, we were pretty solid.”
2. Keep penalties to a minimum
The Stars’ penalty kill has been effective 75.0 percent of the time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and is 6-for-8 in three games in this series. They’re 6-for-6 the past two games against the Avalanche’s power play, which can be tough to defend.
That’s why Dallas would prefer to not play with fire.
“You look at their power play and what they’ve done over the course of the year and in the first round, you have to stay out of the box,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “If you keep taking penalties, that’s going to cost you in the end. It’s important for our group to play hard, play the right way, but don’t cross that line.”
3. Get to Oettinger
Bednar said Sunday the Avalanche could make it tougher on Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who made 28 saves in Game 3. That will be a focal point Monday.
“I think you've just got to get in front of him, try and send guys to the net with timing,” Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson said. “So much of it is a timing thing too, right? It's not just standing, three guys standing there, because they might box out or rebounds go the wrong direction, but you can time your timing going to the net; that's when sometimes you'll find the right puck. Sometimes you won't, but if you do it consistently, eventually you'll get one and that can be the difference.”
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Logan Stankoven
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Tyler Seguin
Evgenii Dadonov -- Sam Steel -- Craig Smith
Thomas Harley -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell -- Chris Tanev
Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Ty Dellandrea, Radek Faksa
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)
Avalanche projected lineup
Jonathan Drouin -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Artturi Lehkonen -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Joel Kiviranta
Miles Wood -- Ross Colton -- Zach Parise
Brandon Duhaime -- Yakov Trenin -- Andrew Cogliano
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson
Jack Johnson -- Sean Walker
Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen
Scratched: Jean-Luc Foudy, Arvid Holm, Caleb Jones, Nikolai Kovalenko, Chris Wagner, Sam Malinksy, Ivan Prosvetov
Injured: None
Suspended: Valeri Nichushkin
Status report
DeBoer said there will be no lineup changes. … Drouin was a full participant at the morning skate and will be a game-time decision; he has not played since sustaining a lower-body injury in the Avalanche’s regular-season finale April 18.
