The Dallas Stars will look to even the series against the Colorado Avalanche in a Game 2 matchup tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Dallas lost to the Avalanche 5-1 in Game 1 of this series, though the final score appeared much worse than the performance on the ice.
The Stars trailed just 2-1 early in the third period before the wheels fell off, with the team allowing one more goal to trail the Avalanche 3-1 before multiple empty net goals sealed the loss.
Stars Coach Pete DeBoer said after the game that he thought the team played “pretty solid” and still had a chance to win the game.
“I think it’s probably the best game we’ve played in three or four weeks,” he said, per NHL.com.
While DeBoer believes the Stars displayed their best performance over the last few weeks, that may not be saying much.
Including this Game 1 loss, Dallas has not picked up a win in eight games, putting together a record of 0-6-2 in those appearances.
The good news for Dallas is that this is not an uncommon position for the team. The Stars have now lost Game 1 in seven straight series under DeBoer, including six Game 1 losses at home.
After the game, stars forward Wyatt Johnston acknowledged that the team does not want to trail in a series, but noted that they “have a lot of experience being down 1-0 in a series.”
“That gives us some positive notes that we’re able to come back from this. We lost game one against these guys last year and were able to get it back. In playoff time, you’re going to lose games and win games, but the most important thing is the next game,” he explained, per NHL.com.
Following tonight’s matchup between these two teams, the Stars will travel to Colorado for Game 3, which is currently scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Although Dallas is not guaranteed a return to the American Airlines Center, the team could travel back to Dallas for Game 5 with one victory in the next three games.