News Avalanche Team Notes

[Colorado Avalanche]

Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars (7:00 p.m. MT)

After their home opener on Thursday night, which saw the Colorado Avalanche take on the Utah Mammoth, the Avs remain perfect on the season, as they defeated Utah by a final score of 2-1. Tonight, they take on a team that they’ve gotten, for better or for worse, all too familiar with in the past couple of seasons, as the Dallas Stars come to Denver for a divisional matchup. This will be the first regular season game between these two teams.

Colorado Avalanche: 2-0-0​

The Opponent: Dallas Stars (1-0-0)

Time: 7:00 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude Sports, KTVD-TV (My20), Victory+, ESPN+

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM

Colorado Avalanche​

Up till this point, the Avs have looked pretty darn good in the two games that they’ve played against the LA Kings and the Utah Mammoth. Everything’s just been clicking for Colorado in these two games so far. Your superstars have done superstar things of course, with Cale Makar walking a Kings defener at the blueline on opening night, and Nathan MacKinnon having the game-winning goal for the Avs against the Mammoth in the home opener. On top of that, however, you’ve gotten some pretty solid depth production as well, with your third line scoring an absoltuely gorgeous goal to get Colorado on the scoreboard first on this past Thursday night.

And then there’s the elephant in the room, in the best way possible, which is Scott Wedgewood. The general thought going into him starting for Colorado in the absense of Mackenzie Blackwood was tht he’d certainly be able to hold his own and give the Avs a chance to win games. That being said, I don’t think anyone really anticipated him playing at such a high level through these two games. He’s been able to bail Colorado out at just about every turn in these two games, with his only two allowed goals coming on the powerplay, I just don’t know how you can’t be happy with his performance. While you’d obviously like the Avs to play and score at such a level that they don’t need Wedgewood bailing them out at every turn, it definitely feels good to have such high confidence in your goaltender, if and when breakdowns inevitably happen at one point or another. Colorado will certainly need Wedgewood to perform well again tonight against an insanely talented, and deep, Dallas Stars team.

Projected Lineup​

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabe Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Jack Drury — Viktor Olofsson
Joel Kiviranta — Parker Kelly — Gavin Brindley

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Sam Girard — Josh Manson
Sam Malinski — Brent Burns

Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner

Dallas Stars​

Dallas comes into this game off of a 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets, which saw the Stars have a 5-1 lead over the Jets with about 10 minutes left in regularion, before the Jets would score three unanswered goals to pull within one. As mentioned earlier, this Dallas team is one that Colorado has become all too familiar with over the past couple of seasons, as this is the team that has eliminated Colorado in the playoffs the past two seasons.

If you’re Colorado, it might be encouraging that Winnipeg was able to make a comeback bid late in the third period during this game, and ultimately pull within one goal. And while that optimism might be founded, make no mistake, this is not a team that you want to play from behind against, under any circumstances. Dallas is very much a legitemate Stanley Cup contendor this season, as they have been the last few seasons, and they can definitely play effective “bend don’t break” hockey, which is what they did against Winnipeg to seal the win. This is also a team who is very well balanced across all four lines and all three defensive pairings, and the Avs will need their depth to make plays like they did against Utah to keep up with the Stars. They have a very good starting goaltender in Jake Oettinger as well, hence the mention of Wedgewood needing to keep up his current level of play. This is a team that is overall very well balanced, and that has no insane weakesses on their roster. This will be a very tough litmus test early in the season for the Avalanche. Hopefully, they’re up for the task.

Projected Lineup​

Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Mikko Rantanen
Wyatt Johnston – Matt Duchene – Tyler Seguin
Mavrik Bourque – Sam Steel – Colin Blackwell
Justin Hryckowian – Radek Faksa – Nathan Bastian

Esa Lindell – Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley – Nils Lundkvist
Lian Bichsel – Ilya Lyubushkin

Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith

Follow along in the comments below!

Source: https://www.milehighhockey.com/open...colorado-avalanche-vs-dallas-stars-700-p-m-mt

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Recap: Rantanen Haunts Former Team in 5–4 Shootout Thriller

DENVER — Marty Nečas and Nathan MacKinnon each registered three-point performances, but even their offensive brilliance couldn’t exorcise Colorado’s lingering nemesis.

The Dallas Stars once again proved to be the Avalanche’s stumbling block. Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson scored shootout goals, Jake Oettinger stoned MacKinnon on Colorado’s final shot, and the Stars fended off the Avalanche for a 5-4 victory Saturday night at Ball Arena.

Jake Oettinger was superb between the pipes, turning aside 35 shots through regulation and overtime and adding two more stops in the shootout to backstop Dallas to victory. His performance spoiled a milestone evening for veteran defenseman Brent Burns, who became just the eighth defenseman in NHL history to appear in 1,500 games, while also extending his ironman streak to 928 consecutive games—the longest active run in the league and the fourth-longest in NHL history. Burns also notched his first point in an Avalanche sweater during the game.

Thomas Harley led the way offensively for Dallas with a goal and an assist, while Nathan Bastian and Robertson struck 3:03 apart in the second period to erase Colorado’s early lead and give the Stars a 3–2 advantage.

Rantanen, who famously buried a third-period hat trick to eliminate his former team in Game 7 of last spring’s first round playoff series, once again proved to be some form of kryptonite. The Finnish winger scored the game-winning goal in the shootout to hand Dallas yet another victory over Colorado.

Scott Wedgewood had an up-and-down night, but finished with 18 saves and added one save in the shootout for the Avalanche.

First Period

Colorado finally started a game with some jump and controlled the puck early. Eight minutes into the contest, Valeri Nichushkin streaked down the right wing and snapped a wrist shot that rang cleanly off the post, a sharp warning of Colorado’s early intent. Moments later, Dallas defenseman Lian Bichsel was whistled for hooking Brock Nelson, sending the Avalanche to the game’s first power play.

Although the Avs were unable to break through on the man advantage, they generated a flurry of quality chances, repeatedly testing Oettinger but failing to solve him.

Shortly after the Stars killed the penalty, Josh Manson was assessed a high-sticking minor against Wyatt Johnston. A closer look at the replay revealed Manson had aimed to finish a check on Johnston’s shoulder but misjudged as Johnston juked at the last moment, resulting in incidental contact. Colorado’s penalty killers held firm, and the momentum swung back moments later when Harley was sent off for cross-checking Marty Nečas.

Once again, Colorado’s power play buzzed but couldn’t finish. Nelson made a diving effort to keep the puck alive, MacKinnon unleashed a one-timer from the left circle that Oettinger denied with his blocker, and another MacKinnon attempt from the backdoor slipped through Oettinger’s legs only to ping off the post. Cale Makar’s one-timer was also deflected just wide.

Dallas struck first late in the period when Harley one-timed a pass from Rantanen past an outstretched Wedgewood, giving the Stars a 1–0 lead heading into the intermission.

Second Period

The middle frame began with immediate drama. Just ten seconds in, Rantanen was penalized for high-sticking Makar in the face, prompting a brief but heated exchange between former teammates Rantanen and MacKinnon.

Colorado finally capitalized on the ensuing power play. MacKinnon threaded a cross-ice feed to Nečas, who wired a wrist shot top shelf from the right doorstep over a sprawling Oettinger to tie the game 1–1.

Tempers flared shortly afterward when Ross Colton leveled Miro Heiskanen with a heavy check, drawing a response from Justin Hryckowian. The two dropped the gloves, and Colton landed a pair of uppercuts before both tumbled to the ice.

Midway through the period, Gavin Brindley notched his first NHL goal, cashing in on a loose puck in the crease and jamming it past Oettinger to give Colorado a 2–1 lead. It was a great moment for the 21-year-old but he still only saw just over six minutes of time on ice despite scoring a big goal.

Congrats to Gavin Brindley! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/25E2MrPPdX

— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) October 12, 2025

With 8:45 remaining in the frame, Makar was sent off for tripping Robertson while attempting a poke check, clipping his skates instead. The Stars made the Avalanche pay late in the period. With 1:35 left, Robertson expertly redirected Harley’s point shot past Wedgewood to give Dallas a 3-2 lead entering the third period.

Third Period

Colorado wasted no time equalizing. Just 34 seconds into the final frame, MacKinnon drove the puck deep into the zone and found Artturi Lehkonen, who muscled past Bastian in front of the net for a tap in from the left doorstep to make it a 3-3 game.

Dallas responded swiftly. A mere 1:24 later, Wyatt Johnston broke free on a breakaway, deftly moving from backhand to forehand before sliding the puck past Wedgewood’s outstretched left pad to put the Stars back on top, 4–3.

Colorado then sustained a heavy offensive push, and Ilya Lyubushkin clipped Joel Kiviranta in the face with his stick, drawing blood and earning a four-minute double minor. On the extended power play, the Avalanche finally broke through just before it expired. Nečas set up MacKinnon at the left circle, and the superstar hammered home a one-timer to tie the game at 4–4.

With just over three minutes remaining, Jack Drury nearly gave Colorado the lead, but Oettinger flashed the leather for a spectacular glove save—one that will make every highlight reel. Moments later, Makar found Nečas on the doorstep, but once again Oettinger stymied him with another world-class stop.

Neither side could find a winner through regulation or overtime, sending the game to a shootout.

Shootout

Robertson scored on the first shot for the Stars and Nichushkin kept the Avalanche alive when he beat Oettinger on a backhander. But Colorado’s old friend, Agent 006 Mikko Rantanen showed up to haunt the Avalanche again and scored the game-winner. Dallas improves to 2-0 on the season, while Colorado slips, technically, to 2-0-1, but the extra point means the Avs are still ahead of the Stars in the Central Division.

Takeaways

From the perspective of a hockey lover, this is what every fan asks for in a rivalry game. Close, competitive, and a lot of changes in momentum.

However, from an analytical standpoint, Colorado had an issue with turnovers in stretches during this game and defensive lapses in coverage. And ultimately that’s what cost them the game. Whether it was Bastian sneaking through to the backdoor, giving up the puck, allowing Harley an open lane to fire in the first goal of the game. That sequence was nearly identical to the play that sent the Stars to the Western Conference Final last season, and Harley also scored the series-clinching goal then against the Winnipeg Jets.

But don’t take this too seriously. This was a good game, but they have some work to do, and that’s what practices are for. Tremendous effort and onto the next one.

What’s Next?

The Avalanche get the day off before facing Bowen Byram and the Buffalo Sabres on Monday morning at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is at 10:30 am MT. Be sure to read that properly. It’s a day game.

Source: https://www.milehighhockey.com/colo...n-haunts-former-team-in-5-4-shootout-thriller