The Dallas Stars fell to the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on Thursday night as the two teams will now prepare for Game 7 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Dallas opened the game slowly and fell behind early in Game 6, trailing the Avalanche 2-0 when the two teams left the ice for intermission at the end of the first period.
However, the Stars rebounded quickly and took a strong 4-3 lead by the end of the second period.
From there, the Avalanche took over in the fourth quarter, posting two goals within the first 10 minutes of game time in the third period to retake the lead before finishing with two more goals to solidify the victory.
The biggest difference in this matchup came from the Avalanche’s aggressiveness on the offensive end. They posted an impressive 48 shots on goal, while the Stars only attempted 26 shots.
Similarly, the Avalanche were the far more physical team in this matchup, finishing the game with 45 hits compared to the Stars’ total of just 19 hits.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said after the loss that he would “rather win in six,” but there is “an advantage for us being at home” that the team can utilize.
“Now we’ve got a great opportunity. Home for Game 7,” he said, per NHL.com.
“We’ve been in this situation before. No one gave us a chance to win this series, and here we are with one game at home to advance, so that’s a great situation to be in.”
Dallas is in familiar territory entering this Game 7 against the Avalanche. This franchise has played a seven-game series in each of its last seven playoff appearances, dating back to 2016.
Although very few players on the current Stars team were on the roster throughout this stretch, multiple veterans can help guide the team through this pivotal final game.
Dallas will also be able to draw on DeBoer’s experience. Throughout his coaching career, he has an incredible 8-0 record in Game 7s.
Both Dallas and Colorado will now look ahead to Game 7 of this series, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. at American Airlines Center. The loser of this series will head home for the remainder of the season.
The winner of this series will then begin preparations for a series against either the Winnipeg Jets or St. Louis Blues. Winnipeg has a chance to end the series in a Game 6 matchup tonight at 7 p.m.