DALLAS — The Colorado Avalanche desperately needed a bounce, or a break, to keep its season alive.
It got both.
Cale Makar scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist and Colorado staved off elimination Wednesday night at American Airlines Center with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of this second-round series against the Dallas Stars. Dallas leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 back at Ball Arena on Friday night.
“I think after getting dominated in Game 4, we needed to build our game back up and get some confidence,” MacKinnon said. “Game 1 feels like an eternity ago. It was nice to feel like we were the better team. We didn’t just win. I felt like we were the better team. Definitely happy with the effort.”
The win ended a run of three straight victories for the Stars in this series, and provided a lifeline for the Avs after their worst performance of this postseason in Game 4 left them on the brink.
The bounce came when Mittelstadt put a shot off the near post, off Jake Oettinger’s skate and into the net for Colorado’s first lead during play this series. That came 1:12 into the third period, and just after Zach Parise knocked the loose puck out of the air into Mittelstadt’s path.
“We haven’t forced them, throughout the course of this series, to have to push and have to try and create,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re a smart, disciplined, well-coached, deep hockey team. Part of that is you’re allowed to be that more often when you’re not behind.
“You can see, even though there’s 18 minutes, they have to get more guys involved in the attack to try and create. They couldn’t stay as patient as they’d like to.”
The break came when Makar made it a 4-2 lead a little more than three minutes later. Oettinger has been great all series, but Makar’s shot from near the top of the right circle fooled the goalie and beat him through the five hole. It was Makar’s fifth goal of the postseason.
Logan Stankoven got one back just 86 seconds later. He deflected Esa Lindell’s point shot at 5:44 of the third. But MacKinnon added a needed insurance marker with 3:10 remaining to give Colorado at least one more home game this season.
“We’ve never really chased a 3-1 deficit recently, but we know how it felt after we lost to St. Louis (in 2022) when we were up 3-1,” MacKinnon said. “It felt like the world was ending. Same thing with Tampa in the finals. It’s a lot. Obviously we won the Game 6s, but it doesn’t feel great when you let a team back in. It’s our job to put a little pressure on them.”
Dallas scored first for the fifth straight game. Joe Pavelski scored his first goal of this postseason midway through the first period. Matt Duchene knocked the puck away from Avs defenseman Josh Manson and toward the front net. Pavelski was there to chip it past Alexandar Georgiev.
For the first time in the series, the Avalanche scored a goal in the first period. Artturi Lehkonen’s one-timer on a setup from MacKinnon evened the score with 0.6 seconds left in the opening period. It was also the first time all series that Colorado didn’t trail at either the first or second intermission.
Dallas regained the lead with a crafty play at the start of a power play. Seconds after Devon Toews put the puck out of play in his own zone, the Stars acted like they were setting up for a normal attempt to enter the zone.
But immediately after the drop pass to Pavelski, he snapped the puck up to Jason Robertson at the far blue line. The play caught the Avs flat-footed, so Robertson and Miro Heiskanen had a 2-on-0 and Heiskanen finished it for a 2-1 lead.
Colorado answered with the extra man again late in the period. Mikko Rantanen drew the penalty and then provided a perfect screen for Makar’s shot from the top of the zone with 2:36 left in the period.
“We got some cleaner entries,” MacKinnon said of the power play. “I had to do a better job of creating cleaner entries for the boys. Had a couple good ones. Obviously we got Cale up top with some time. Great screens. That’s what makes us successful. Pretty, pretty simple hockey. (Lehkonen) found a pocket and it was a great shot.”
Toews returned to the lineup after missing Game 4 with an illness. The Avs remain without Valeri Nichushskin, who was suspended for at least six months Monday just before Game 4 and placed into Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA Players Assistance Program.
Dallas was without No. 1 Roope Hintz for this game after he left Game 4 with an injury. Avs fourth-line center Yakov Trenin left Game 5 during the first period and did not return because of an upper-body injury.
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