HIGHLIGHTS
GAME RUNDOWN
When it rains it pours, and in the Colorado Avalanche’s case that means that the losses just keep piling up in this still young NHL season. Visiting the division rival Dallas Stars, the Avalanche struggled mightily in the first 10 minutes of the game, as the Stars’ top players, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, controlled the pace of play.
It wouldn’t take long for the Stars to jump out to a lead. 5:11 into the first period Devin Shore potted the Stars first goal of the night when a Carl Soderberg turnover on the boards led to a quick reversal and a tap in goal for the Stars’ streaking young forward. Shore went undefended in the crease and easily tapped the puck past Pickard for a Stars lead.
It would take just over 6:00 for the Stars to strike a second time, this time with superstar forward Tyler Seguin slipping away from the Avs’ defensive coverage to fire a one-timer from the faceoff dot on the back door.
Despite what looked like another blowout waiting to happen, the Avalanche didn’t fold so early in Dallas. Instead, the Avalanche’s top players brought the team back within a goal on a highlight-reel sequence, displaying all the natural talent that’s been stifled too often this year. Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, and Mikko Rantanen all touched the puck in the space of about 2 seconds on the tic-tac-toe sequence before Matt Duchene fired the puck on net, collected his own rebound and beat Lehtonen.
The Stars would strike early again in the second period as the Avalanche lost track of Jamie Oleksiak down low. The defenseman got the puck alone on the side and out-waited Calvin Pickard, who dropped early, before beating the Avs’ goalie over his post-side shoulder.
The Avalanche took a pair of goalie interference penalties in the third period before goaltender Kari Lehtonen was forced to leave the game due to a collision with Jarome Iginla. The Avalanche brought the score to within 1 just under halfway through the period when Mikhail Grigorenko made a great play in the crease to pick up a Tyson Barrie rebound and roof it on the backhand.
With the score close, the Dallas Stars buckled down defensively and stifled the Avalanche completely, holding them to just 19 shots in total and holding them without a shot at the net over the final 5:00 of their comeback bid.
In the closing seconds of the game, Tyler Seguin sent the puck the length of the ice to close things out with a dead center empty net goal.
THREE STARS
1. Tyler Seguin: 2 goals, 1 assist, 5 shots on goal
2. Jamie Benn: 3 assists, 3 shots on goal
3. Matt Duchene: 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 shots on goal, recorded his 400th point
PLAY OF THE GAME
Regardless of the outcome, Matt Duchene’s finish on the Avalanche’s first goal was one of the prettiest skill plays the team has made in weeks. It takes top honors on a night where the Stars were left wide open on each of their easy goals.
TURNING POINT
Jamie Oleksiak’s goal to extend the Stars’ lead to two would not only dampen the Avs hope of an early 2nd-period equalizer but would eventually hold up as the game-winner.
BY THE NUMBERS
WHAT’S NEXT
Colorado heads back home to face a hostile crowd as the New York Rangers visit on New Year’s Eve. Puck drops at 6:00 PM MST.
