DALLAS — Stars coach Pete DeBoer had a quick response when asked if playoff experience mattered for a goaltender.
“Ever heard of Ken Dryden?!” he said with a laugh.
Jake Oettinger had a similar answer.
“I had never played in the playoffs before and had a pretty good run there (in 2022),” he said with a smile.
Well, welcome to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Mackenzie Blackwood.
In his playoff debut, Blackwood was nearly perfect, only allowing a third-period goal after losing his stick, making 23 saves in a 5-1 Colorado Avalanche victory in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Dallas Stars. Devon Toews’ net-crashing chip-in of a Josh Manson feed at 12:56 of the third period sealed things for the Avs and sucked the life out of a raucous American Airlines Center after Dallas drew within one on Roope Hintz’s power-play goal at 6:45 of the third. Nathan MacKinnon added an empty-netter (his second goal of the night) and Charlie Coyle scored late to make the game look a lot more lopsided than it actually was.
For Colorado, it’s the first step toward a second championship in four seasons for a team that was dramatically remade midseason — Blackwood included — by general manager Chris MacFarland. For Dallas, it was an all-too-familiar early stumble — an eighth straight Game 1 loss — for a team with championship aspirations of its own.
Here are some takeaways:
Fluky goal breaks the ice for Colorado
Roope Hintz had a golden chance off the rush off a feed from Evgenii Dadonov. Nathan MacKinnon had a great look on the power play. Matt Duchene had a chance on the doorstep. Cale Makar stepped into a one-timer at full speed.
But the first goal of the series was more blooper than highlight, coming off of Artturi Lehkonen’s foot. It was very much kicked in, but that’s only because Lehkonen was being hauled to the ice by Mavrik Bourque, and his feet flailed in the air, sending the puck fluttering past Jake Oettinger. A quick review determined there was no distinct kicking motion, and the goal, midway through the second period, stood.
Avalanche PP makes Stars pay … eventually
Given the Stars’ seven-game losing streak to close out the regular season, and their seven consecutive losses in Game 1s dating back three postseasons, an early two-man disadvantage could have spelled doom. But after Mason Marchment and Wyatt Johnston took tripping penalties 36 seconds apart, Dallas had an inspired 5-on-3 kill against the dangerous Avalanche power play. The initial trio of Ilya Lyubushkin, Sam Steel and Esa Lindell frustrated the Avs with quick sticks, and Lindell finally got a clear — wheeling around his own net and banking a shot off his own end boards — a minute into the kill.
Lindell, who has shouldered much of the defensive burden that Heiskanen would typically take, was out for the first 90 seconds of the kill. It was a virtuoso kill, and sent the home crowd into delirium.
But you can only give Colorado so many bites at the apple, and a double-minor to Roope Hintz for high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon late in the second period cost Dallas dearly. The officials seemed to miss the infraction, but conferred on it, called it, and confirmed it with a review. MacKinnon made the Stars pay, knuckling in a puck off Lyubushkin for a backbreaker of a goal, sending the Avs into the second intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Dallas got in on the special-teams fun in the third period, when Blackwood lost his stick and couldn’t corral Roope Hintz’s redirect of a Thomas Harley shot from up top. The power play started pretty awful for the Stars, but DeBoer called timeout halfway through to keep his top unit on the ice and give his big names a second chance.
Waiting on Mikko Rantanen
Mikko Rantanen has a reputation for being a big-time playoff performer, and has the numbers to back it up, with 101 points in 82 career playoff games. He was a monster for the Avalanche during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2022, with five goals and 20 assists in 20 games.
“I try to play a 200-foot game, play an all-around game,” Rantanen said when asked why he’s had such playoff success. “You play power play, and play a lot of minutes, so you have a responsibility to be on the scoresheet. You’ve got to defend well in the playoffs, but top forwards and top defensemen got to bring something offensively as well.”
But after a relatively quiet six-game loss to Dallas last season, he started off his Stars postseason career with a rather pedestrian effort. He finished with three shots and was a minus-2, with the Stars badly under water in terms of possession with Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn on the ice at five-on-five.
Rantanen is obviously critical to Dallas’ chances in this series, but his importance is even more heightened with Jason Robertson out.
“He’s just a guy that seems to rise when the pressure’s on and always seems to be making those plays,” Johnston said before the game. “It’ll be awesome to have him on our side for this series rather than having to play against him.”
Landeskog, Heiskanen returns loom over series
Despite all the big names on both rosters, most of the attention Saturday morning was on two scratches recovering from knee injuries— Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen. Landeskog hasn’t played in the NHL in nearly three years as he’s painstakingly worked his way back from a knee injury suffered during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, and Heiskanen hasn’t played since Jan. 28 after having knee surgery Feb. 4.
Landeskog played in two games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, posting a goal and an assist, but was a scratch for Game 1. Heiskanen, deemed “week to week” by Stars coach Pete DeBoer on Friday, was a surprise participant in Saturday’s morning skate, and appears much closer to returning than expected.
It’s impossible to know what to expect from Landeskog after so much time off, but the emotional lift of having their captain back — even as a scratch — is evident.
“I was there in Loveland watching him play (with the Eagles), that was unbelievable,” Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson said. “It’s good to have him around on the ice. He brings a presence. You can’t really explain it in words.”
Heiskanen, meanwhile, might be Dallas’ most important player. There’s a mental boost that comes with that, too.
“Will Miro Heiskanen give us a spark?” DeBoer said. “Absolutely.”
The next step for Heiskanen is getting some contact in a full team practice. Landeskog, in theory, can step in at any time.
(Photo: Raymond Carlin III / Imagn Images)