DALLAS (KNTU) The Colorado Avalanche got sweet revenge against their Central Division rivals, shutting down the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Thursday, March 21, at the American Airlines Center.
Dallas (38-30-6) dominated Colorado 4-0 in the previous meeting on March 7 with forward Alexander Radulov tallying his first career hat trick.
But behind a 44-save night from goaltender Philipp Grubauer, the Avalanche (33-29-12) got revenge and moved into a tie for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
The first period was back and forth with each team only having a few legitimate offensive chances. Both sides were held scoreless and combined for 22 shots in the opening frame.
The first goal of the game came at the 17:20 mark of the second period, when Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson one-timed a pass from Samuel Girard past Stars goaltender Ben Bishop.
“I was ready for it too,” said Bishop. “[Johnson] has a heavy shot and it’s one I’d like to have back.”
Colorado began to pull away early in the third period when defenseman Tyson Barrie doubled the Avs lead with a wrist shot that snuck by Bishop.
The goal was Barrie’s 300th NHL point and also tied him with Sandis Ozolinsh for the most goals by a defenseman in Colorado Avalanche franchise history.
Center Tyler Seguin scored on a redirected pass from John Klingberg to bring the Stars to within a goal at the 14:59 mark of the third period, but that was as close as Dallas could get.
The Stars had numerous chances to tie the game in the final frame but had trouble finding the back of the net.
“Offensively, it was just a matter of inches for some of the plays,” said Stars forward Jason Dickinson. “[Seguin] hits the side of the net and we had one back door that just wouldn’t go through. Little things like that.”
Colorado eventually shut the door at the end of the period with an empty netter from center Carl Soderberg.
Despite the loss, the Stars remain in the first wild-card spot, four points clear of the Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes with eight games left in the season for all the teams. Stars head coach Jim Montgomery remained optimistic despite the team dropping three of their last four home games.
“We’re playing a good brand of hockey,” said Montgomery. “We’re gonna end up on the right side of the score sheet if we keep playing this way.”
Croney’s three stars of the game:
3. Tyler Seguin: The forward scored the only Dallas goal of the game and drew his team to within one at the end of the third period.
2. Nathan Mackinnon: An all-out force on the ice for the Avalanche, he controlled the tempo of the game and tallied nine total shots with a plus/minus rating of +1.
1. Philipp Grubauer: The Colorado netminder continued his recent hot streak, stopping 44 of 45 shots, including 23-of-24 in the final period. Grubauer helped his team get the win by coming up with countless big saves throughout the game.
Up Next:
Colorado: The Avs return home to welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to town on Saturday afternoon.
Dallas Stars: The Stars will conclude their five-game homestand on Saturday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
