The Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, advancing to the second round for the second consecutive year.
Dallas advanced to face Central Division rival Colorado Avalanche in the second round. Colorado defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 in the first round.
The Stars, the Western Conference regular-season champions, have home-ice advantage and will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7 at American Airlines Center. .
The series begins Tuesday with Game 1 scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. and Game 2 on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Here are five things to know about the Stars' second-round matchup.
Key playoff opponents
The Stars have never made it to the Stanley Cup Final without going through the Colorado Avalanche. In five postseason meetings, the Stars hold a 3-2 advantage with wins in 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2019-20.
The most recent matchup between the two teams was in the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs bubble, with the Stars winning in seven games.
All three of Dallas' wins required Game 7. Colorado's two wins came in just five games in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
Records don't tell the whole story
As league opponents, the Stars and Avalanche met four times in the regular season, with Colorado winning the series 3-1.
Colorado won its first three games (two of which were blowouts), while Dallas picked up perhaps its best win of the season on April 7, by a 7-4 margin on the road. This victory was the key to winning both the Central Division and Western Conference titles.
The situations the Stars faced the Avalanche this season weren't easy. Dallas' two road games were played on the second night of back-to-back games, and in the second home game on January 4, Miro Heiskanen was injured in a collision with Scott Wedgewood in the third period, resulting in Dallas scoring two runs. It was a sad night. We lost in overtime 5-4 and led by a goal with 10 minutes left.
The Stars don't have to worry about back-to-back games in the playoffs. Ball Arena in Colorado is a difficult environment to play in, but the Stars will start the series at home as the top seed.
Avalanche start playoffs hot
The Avalanche led the NHL this postseason with a whopping 5.6 goals per game. While most other teams saw their average goals go down in the playoffs, Colorado's goals average skyrocketed. The Avalanche also had a good performance against Winnipeg. Winnipeg is one of the best defensive teams in the league with Vezina frontrunner Connor Hellebuyck finding the back of the net.
They are led by forward Nathan MacKinnon, who scored 140 points in the regular season and finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. He already has nine postseason points (two goals, seven assists) in just five games.
Two other Avalanche players also scored nine points. They are forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar, a finalist for this year's Norris Trophy.
Conversely, the Avalanche are allowing 3.0 points per game, the most of any team that advanced to the second round.
Colorado joins the series
The Colorado-Winnipeg series was expected to be the league's toughest first-round matchup, with many expecting it to take seven games.
However, the University of Colorado was shut out in five games, and Winnipeg's season ended on Tuesday.
The Stars Avalanche series begins Tuesday, so Colorado will be off the ice for a full week before the series begins. This is a rare break in the postseason, allowing the players to be well-rested heading into the Dallas series.
Even if the Stars have to participate in another series, it might not be the worst situation. After nearly a week off since the last game of the regular season, the Stars started the playoffs with two straight losses at home to Las Vegas.
A quick turnaround could allow Dallas to extend its four-game winning streak, and Colorado could settle down from a hot start on offense.
Familiar faces on both sides
A small number of Stars and Avalanche players will be reunited with their former teams.
For the Stars, Matt Duchene will be returning to where he started his NHL career. The first-year forward from Dallas spent 8.5 seasons in Colorado from 2009-2018. This was the longest suspension of his career, which has seen him play in Ottawa, Columbia, Nashville, and now Dallas.
On the Colorado side, Joel Kiviranta, Valeri Nichushkin and Andrew Cogliano will all return to Dallas.
Kiviranta was part of Dallas' Western Conference Finals squad last season and only recently left. He played a total of four years in Dallas. Nichushkin began his career with the Stars, spending four years with the team from 2013 to 2019. Cogliano spent three seasons with Dallas from 2018-21.
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