NHL 25: Stars push Avalanche toward brink of elimination with 2-1 win

3 days ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 3 minutes 7 seconds

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images


The Avalanche went 0/4 on the power play and registered just three shots on net combined on their first three opportunities with the man-advantage. Brutal.
NHL 25 has predicted that the Dallas Stars will defeat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead at Ball Arena.
Gabriel Landeskog scored the lone goal for the Avalanche, while Evgenii Dadonov and Tyler Seguin, who scored the game-winner, found the net for Dallas.
The simulation played out in a very similar fashion to Game 3, albeit Colorado had more shots on net.
Mackenzie Blackwood was once again fantastic but it was all for naught as the offense fell asleep for a third straight game. He stopped 21 of 23 shots and Jake Oettinger stopped 26 of 27 for the winning club.
And yes the power play was also atrocious. The Avalanche went 0/4 and the Stars, well, they scored one out of their two opportunities, but it was that single goal that made a difference.
The key takeaway from this game has been a real-life issue throughout the season: turnovers. The Avalanche turned over the puck constantly and created opportunities for the opposing team.
First Period
However, Colorado took advantage of a Dallas turnover in the first period to score their only goal of the game. It happened when Seguin carried the puck into the Colorado zone and attempted to pass the puck to Cody Ceci behind the net. Unfortunately for Dallas, Ceci completely missed the pass and it ended up being a bank pass to the wrong team. Marty Nečas scooped up the puck and found Landeskog down the middle of the ice, and the captain scored on the breakaway. That all unfolded just five minutes and 25 seconds into the game.
And that was it for the offense. Colorado had the lead for just over three minutes until Dadonov scored as he snapped a shot while getting taken down to the ice from behind by Devon Toews. Despite that, the puck managed to sneak under Blackwood’s armpit and into the net.
Just like Game 3, Dallas gave Colorado so many opportunities to get the lead back. The Avs went on their first power play Oskar Bäck with just over eight minutes left in the period when he cross-checked Toews in the back and shoved him down to the ice. Did the Avs do anything about it? Nope. In fact, they didn’t even register a shot on goal. MacKinnon and Makar combined for three turnovers during the two-minute display.
Colorado went on the power play again when Matt Duchene elbowed Jack Drury and sent him crashing into the boards. This time, they managed to get one shot on net when Landeskog ripped a slapper from the left circle, but Oettinger gloved it.
Second Period
The second period started with a penalty when Roope Hintz sent MacKinnon down off the faceoff. Same old story. Two shots registered on the power play and no goals.
5:41 into the period, the Stars got their first chance on the man advantage when Joel Kiviranta slashed Mikael Granlund on the hands while attempting to get at a loose puck.
The Stars took a 2-1 lead when Colorado’s best friend, Mason Marchment fed Seguin in the slot and he snapped a wrister to beat Blackwood top shelf. And that was it for scoring. The game effectively ended in the second period.
Colorado entered the third period with a 19-14 advantage in shots on goal.
Third Period
Hintz was straight up robbed by Blackwood early in the third when he had possession of the puck in the slot and, with his back turned, whipped around a wrist shot, but Blackwood came up with a diving blocker save. Unfortunately, he went unrewarded for his heroism.
The Avalanche went on the power play with 15:13 left on the board when Marchment elbowed Josh Manson in the back of the head and dropped him to the ice. Wow, that sounds oddly realistic. And the Avs not converting? Well, yeah, that, too.
Kiviranta gave Dallas a chance to earn an insurance marker when he was penalized for holding Ilya Lyubushkin. But the team stepped up and killed the infraction. Well, it was mostly Blackwood, but we were being a little politically correct. Blackwood came up with the blocker save on a shot from Mikko Rantanen from the left circle, a glove save on Wyatt Johnston, and stoned Hintz off a backhand shot in front of the net.
Colorado pulled Blackwood with just under a minute to go, but the Avalanche spent most of their time chasing the puck instead of being in possession. Thankfully, Dallas missed several shots so there was no empty-net goal, but it was yet another close, bitter loss for the Avalanche.
Takeaways
Let’s keep it short. If this happens, this series is all but over. ...

Read Full Article.