The Dallas Stars dropped Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 5-1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night at American Airlines Center. This might seem like I’m grasping for something good since this is their eighth straight loss dating back to the regular season, but this was not the disaster that the score would suggest. The Stars were down 2-1 until Devon Toews scored with seven minutes left in the third, and Nathan MacKinnon’s empty-net goal made Charlie Coyle’s 5-1 goal relatively meaningless.
Related: MacKinnon Scores Twice as Avalanche Beat Stars 5-1 in Game 1
The Stars can’t be taken off the hook, but those first two goals were as fluky as they come, especially Artturi Lehkonen’s goal to open the scoring in the second period. On top of it, Mackenzie Blackwood had a playoff debut for the ages, stopping 23 shots, and a good amount of them being very impressive.
This is the playoffs, so let’s not waste time. Here are three takeaways from the night that was in Dallas.
Best Game Dallas Has Played in Weeks
Listen, I know they lost Game 1, and there are some negatives we can take away, specifically defensively. But the truth is, this is the best we’ve seen this Stars team play in weeks. The Stars were only outshot 11-9 in the opening frame. I say only because they killed off a 5-on-3 Avalanche power play in the first 10 minutes of the game, which they only gave up four shots on.
They were out-hit 18-7 in the first period, but physicality isn’t a huge part of the Stars’ game, and it hasn’t been for a few seasons. By the end of the game, the Avalanche out-hit the Stars 30-18, which means the Stars matched Colorado’s physicality as the game went on.
Shots on goal tend to be down in the playoffs historically, so I’m not overly concerned with that aspect of the game. When Dallas did get shots on goal, Blackwood was there to shut the door, and he made some massive saves in every period to keep the score right where it was.
In the home team’s crease, Jake Oettinger had a terrific game. The Avalanche are incredibly dangerous, and when they found a hole to get a quality scoring chance, Oettinger did what he’s paid to do. In some ways, I kind of feel bad for Oettinger. Like we mentioned earlier, there was nothing, in my opinion, he could have done on the first two goals. On Lehkonen’s goal, Mavrik Bourque was pulling him down, and he accidentally kicked the puck high above Oettinger’s shoulder, on a play that Lionel Messi would be proud of. The second was a shot by MacKinnon that deflected off of Ilya Lyubushkin multiple times before wobbling past Oettinger’s catching glove. Oettinger did his job on Saturday night.
Overall, the Stars had their chances and couldn’t get the bounces that the Avalanche had. Not that the Avalanche didn’t deserve to win the game, because they did. However, if the Stars can continue to play like that, this will be a long series.
Special Teams a Big Factor, But Not Big Enough
The penalty kill has been solid all season long, finishing fourth in the NHL at 82.0%. However, in the Stars’ last 14 games, that number dipped to 73.5% in that span, which was 26th in the NHL. On Saturday, their penalty kill was tremendous, specifically in the 5-on-3 Colorado power play in the first period. They finished the game 3-for-4 on the kill, and with all the weapons the Avalanche have on the power play, they’ll take it.
The power play, on the other hand, will be an interesting thing to watch in this series. In the 2024 portion of this season, the Stars were 28th in the league at 15.3%. In the first 32 games of 2025, the Stars’ power play skyrocketed to 33.7%, which was good for second in the NHL in that stretch. In the last 14 games, that dipped down to 18.4%, which was 25th.
We know what we’re getting on the penalty kill, but the real question is on the power play. Which power play are we going to see from the Stars? They were 1-for-3 on Saturday, which is fine. But, when the margins are this thin, especially at 5-on-5, you have to find a way to get that second power-play goal. Also, seven total penalties is a good amount for a playoff game, and they might not get that many opportunities that often.
Stars Continue to Lose Game 1
The Stars have now lost eight straight Game 1s. In that stretch, they are 4-3 when it comes to winning the series, and two of those losses were in the Western Conference Final. The part that really makes you scratch your head is that they played six of those games at home.
There are a few things here. Firstly, the Stars had a better record on home ice than the Avalanche, so this was a huge advantage that they need, and needed to capitalize on. Now, each team has three home games remaining, and the Stars are behind the 8-ball. Secondly, if you want to reach for that silver lining, they finished the 2023-24 regular season 17-4 in their last 21 games, lost the first two games of the opening round to the Vegas Golden Knights, and made it to the Western Conference Final. This season, they finished on a seven-game losing streak and dropped Game 1. There’s historical precedent for everything working out just fine, but we’ll see.
There’s Still Time, But Not a Lot of It
Listen, this game wasn’t perfect. The Toews goal had some defensive lapses that will make head coach Pete DeBoer’s head fall off his body, and there was some sloppy puck-play, specifically in the second period. However, there’s no question that this was the best game that we’ve seen from the Stars in weeks, and up until the last 10 minutes of the third period, it really could have gone either way.
Game 1 is in the books, and at the risk of being obvious, it is imperative that the Stars find a way to head back to Denver with the series tied 1-1. The Stars played well enough to win on Saturday, and with a few more efforts like that, this will be a long series. To that end, no matter who wins Round 1, this always felt like it was going to be a long series, and someone had to lose Game 1.
