The Stars own a 2-1 lead in the series after winning Game 1 by a 5-3 margin and the second outing 5-2. Nathan MacKinnon (seven points; three goals, four assists) and Jamie Benn (six points; one goal, five assists) lead their respective teams so far in the best-of-seven set.
The Avalanche defeated the Stars 4-0 during round-robin play on Aug. 5 in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist), Joonas Donskoi (one goal, one assist) and Samuel Girard (two assists) all recorded two-point outings in the contest. Pavel Francouz made his NHL postseason debut and earned his first shutout in the playoffs.
Colorado dropped each of the four matchups against the Stars during the regular season (0-2-2). The first two outings were only four days apart with the Avs falling 2-1 on Nov. 1 and 4-1 on Nov. 5. The Avalanche was defeated in the final two games in extra minutes by 3-2 margins on Dec. 28 and Jan. 14. J.T. Compher led the Avs in goals after netting two, while MacKinnon registered three points (one goal, two assists) to lead the squad overall during the season series.
The Avs have a 69-53-23 all-time mark against the Stars franchise during the regular season and a 46-35-19 record since moving to Denver for the 1995-96 campaign. MacKinnon has earned 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 31 regular-season outings against the Stars, the most he's scored against any one opponent.
This is the fifth time that the Avalanche and Stars have met in a playoff series. Each team has won two of the previous sets, with Colorado winning the last two in five games during the 2004 and 2006 conference quarterfinals. Dallas won the first two matchups in seven games during the 1999 and 2000 Western Conference Finals.