Colorado

Dallas Stars haunted by Colorado ghosts, blow lead vs. Avs just like in the regular season

Published

2 years ago

May 8, 2024

Dallas Stars haunted by Colorado ghosts, blow lead vs. Avs just like in the regular season

Ahead of both the first round against Vegas and second round against Colorado, Stars coach Pete DeBoer said the regular-season series with each team gave little indication of how the playoffs would play out.

He was right when it came to the Vegas series, as the Stars were winless against the Golden Knights in their three regular-season meetings but came out on top in the seven-game series to advance to the second round.

But after Game 1 against Colorado, the same troubles that the Avalanche posed in the regular season came back to haunt the Stars.

The Stars took a 3-0 lead in the first period of Tuesday’s game before the Avalanche scored four straight goals to win in overtime and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

“Tough lesson to learn in Game 1 but glad we’re not learning it in Game 6 or 7 in an elimination game,” DeBoer said. “We’ve gotta be smarter than that. They’ve got that quick-strike ability that you’ve gotta be mentally sharp for 60 minutes in order to beat them.”

However, it wasn’t the first time Dallas had been taught that lesson. The Stars have blown an early lead to Colorado in all five of their meetings this season.

In their first matchup back in November, the Stars led 3-0 early in the second period before the Avalanche scored six consecutive goals to win 6-3.

In their second meeting in January, Dallas blew a two-goal lead with 10 minutes remaining, and Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner for Colorado in overtime.

In their third matchup in February, Logan Stankoven scored a minute into the game, but that lead held for just 1:08 before Colorado tied it and ultimately went on to win 5-1.

In their final meeting against Colorado in April — their only win against the Avalanche all year — the Stars saw a 5-2 lead narrow to 5-4 with under 10 minutes remaining. Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin had to find two late goals to put the game out of reach.

On Tuesday, it was the same story.

“We shouldn’t have gotten to overtime,” Stars forward Matt Duchene said. “We’re up 3-0. I don’t think we stayed on our toes enough in the second. We kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit. They started to come at us with a couple of penalties, and their power play was obviously lethal. … We had that game under control, and we let it slip away.”

Dallas’ three-goal first period came as a surprise, even to those in its locker room. The Stars were less than 48 hours removed from a grueling Game 7 against Vegas. Colorado was well-rested after a week off.

The Stars managed to carry that Game 7 momentum into the first period before it stalled. Meanwhile, Colorado started rusty but eventually settled into its game and took over.

“That’s a high-octane team over there. It was a very different style of game,” Duchene said. “I think we can probably do a better job throughout the 60 minutes in forcing our game and imposing our game on them with the puck. We got away from it a bit in the second and kind of tide turned there.”

In the second period and early in the third is where Colorado’s playmakers turned the game. Dallas took two penalties early in the second, and the Avalanche’s dominant power play connected on both.

Top-line forward Valeri Nichushkin struck first while Norris Trophy finalist Cale Makar added a power-play goal next. Then, just 39 seconds into the third period, MacKinnon scored off a rebound to tie the game.

Meanwhile, the Stars didn’t get a goal from either their typical top three forwards (Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski) or their top defensive pairing (Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley). All three goals came from their third forward line and third defensive pairing.

DeBoer acknowledged postgame that needs to change.

“At the end of the night, when you look at the score sheet, their big guys all kind of delivered and are all over the score sheet, and I thought a couple of our guys were, but some of our scoring has to step up,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for a series plus a game now for some of that.”

Dallas had the more complete overtime, but it wasn’t enough to put the puck in the net. One bounce ended up on Miles Wood’s stick, and it just took one move around Jake Oettinger to seal the win.

But Dallas never should’ve been in that position to begin with.

Each series comes with a learning curve, but the Stars have had plenty of exposure to the Avalanche to know that no lead is safe against them.

They’ll need another hot start on Thursday, but this time they’ll have to find a way to keep that distance. If they can’t, their season will be on the line again heading on another road trip where their luck could soon run out.

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Colorado

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Published

7 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)

2 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a homestand-opening win on Thursday, the Avalanche hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets for Next Gen Night on Saturday. This is the second and final regular-season matchup between the teams in 2025-26, as the Avalanche defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on October 16th.

A Big Night at Ball

Josh Manson recorded the first two-goal and four-point game of his career, along with a Gordie Howe hat trick, as the Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators 8-2 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Manson was one of five Avs to post at least three points on Thursday, alongside Nathan MacKinnon (1g/3a), Ross Colton (3a), Brock Nelson (2g/1a) and Cale Makar (1g/2a). Additionally, Brent Burns added a goal for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the Avs. With the victory, the Avalanche extended its home win streak to 16 games.

At 10:11 of the first period, Manson opened the scoring with his third goal of the season via a shot from the point through traffic. MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead at 17:14 of the first period with his 36th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Necas. The Avs took a 3-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period when Makar scored his 13th tally of the season via a left-circle shot after receiving a drop pass from MacKinnon. At 5:08 of the middle frame, Shane Pinto put the Senators on the board. The Senators momentarily made it 3-2 with 13:41 remaining in the second period, but the goal was disallowed after the Avs successfully challenged for offside. After the disallowed tally, the clock was reset to 13:48.

Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead on the power play at 11:46 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a sharp-angle one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by MacKinnon. At 12:03 of the middle frame, Burns made it 5-1 with his sixth goal of the season via a right-point shot through traffic. Nelson gave the Avs a 6-1 lead on a five-on-three power play at 14:23 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. The Avalanche took a 7-1 lead at 16:48 of the middle frame when Manson scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Jack Drury’s feed. At 18:04 of the middle frame, Nelson scored his second tally of the game and 21st of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Ilya Solovyov’s feed from the left point. Brady Tkachuk made it 8-2 with a shorthanded goal from the doorstep at 7:03 of the third period.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (36) and points (78) while ranking tied for third in assists (42).

All Hail Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (51) and assists (38) while ranking third in goals by blueliners (13). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists.

Marty Party

Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (55) and tied for ninth in assists (35).

Series History

In 70 previous regular-season games against the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche has a record of 45-19-1-5.

Defeat on the Road

The Blue Jackets lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In the first period, Columbus took a 2-0 lead after goals from Boone Jenner at 8:24 and Kent Johnson at 10:41 before Reilly Smith put Vegas on the board at 12:20. The Golden Knights took a 4-2 lead after second-period goals from Smith at 5:19, Jack Eichel at 13:07 and Mark Stone on the power play at 18:44. Kirill Marchenko scored for the Blue Jackets to make it 4-3 at 14:28 of the third period before Brett Howden gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead at 16:14 of the final frame.

Contributors Against Columbus

MacKinnon has posted 26 points (7g/19a) in 22 games against the Blue Jackets.

In nine contests against Columbus, Makar has registered 17 points (6g/11a).

Necas has recorded 21 points (4g/17a) in 26 games against the Blue Jackets.

Producing Offense for Ohio’s Team

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in points (46) and assists (30) while ranking tied for first in goals (16).

Marchenko is tied for the team lead in goals (16) while ranking second in points (35) and tied for second in assists (19).

Dmitri Voronkov is third on the Blue Jackets in points (28) and goals (15).

A Numbers Game

30

Colorado’s 30 five-on-five goals since December 19th (10 games) are the most in the NHL during that span.

63

The Avalanche’s 63 second-period goals lead the NHL.

3.94

Colorado’s 3.94 goals per game since December 1st lead the NHL during that span.

Quote That Left a Mark

“It was fun. I don’t think he’s ever seen that before. He’s seen me fight. He’s maybe seen me score. But I don’t think he’s ever seen—actually, nobody’s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL. So, it was a first for everybody, including myself.”

— Josh Manson on recording a Gordie Howe hat trick with his father, former NHLer Dave Manson, in attendance

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Colorado

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Published

19 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

Benjamin Carter

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.

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Colorado

Boebert takes on Trump over Colorado water

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Boebert takes on Trump over Colorado water

Congress failed Thursday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a Colorado water project that has been in the works for over 60 years. It’s one of two back-to-back vetoes, the first of his second term. But Colorado Republican 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert — known for her fierce MAGA loyalties — still […]

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