Colorado Looks to Extend Series Again in Game 6

The Colorado Avalanche aims to build off its momentum and force a Game 7 against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT in the sixth contest of the second round.
The Avs extended the best-of-seven set in Game 5, taking a 6-3 victory over the Stars on Monday night. Colorado began the game with a historic five-goal first period, the first time in franchise history the club has tallied five times in a playoff frame.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare opened the floodgates, scoring less than five minutes into the contest, before the Avs scored four times in a 2:36 span. Andre Burakovsky, Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen all tallied in the sequence to give Colorado a 5-0 lead heading into the second period.

Dallas scored twice in the second stanza on goals from Joe Pavelski and Miro Heiskanen, but Burakovsky netted his second of the night to maintain the Avalanche lead. Jamie Benn tallied the lone goal of the third period for Dallas as Colorado took the victory. Dallas still leads the series 3-2 heading into Game 6.
Goaltender Michael Hutchinson made his first career NHL playoff start in Game 5, saving 31-of-34 shots. Dallas started the outing with veteran netminder Ben Bishop, who had been unfit to play and was seeing his first game action since Aug. 13. Bishop allowed four goals on 19 shots before being replaced in the first period with Anton Khudobin, who made 20-of-22 saves.

Avalanche at Dallas Stars | Game 6

Rogers Place | Edmonton, Alberta
| Game Time: | 6 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | NBCSN, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, Official app, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app (blackouts apply) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | Virtual GameDay, Digital Arena, Playoff Central, @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-DALLAS CONNECTIONS

Valeri Nichushkin was selected in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars and played four seasons with the franchise… Colorado defenseman Kevin Connauton spent parts of two seasons with the Stars (2013-2015)… Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor was born in Missouri City, Texas… Dallas forward Blake Comeau played for Colorado from 2015-2018… Stars goaltender Ben Bishop was born in Denver.

HISTORY

Dallas has won three of the five outings so far in the best-of-seven set. The Stars took a 2-0 series lead after winning the first two contests by 5-3 and 5-2 scores, respectively. Colorado rallied for a 6-4 victory in the third contest, but Dallas pushed the Avalanche to the brink of elimination by earning a 5-4 win in Game 4. The Avs extended the series in the fifth matchup, winning 6-3 on Monday. Nathan MacKinnon's 10 points (four goals, six assists) lead the Avs so far in the series while Jamie Benn's eight points (three goals, five assists) are tops on Dallas.
The teams met earlier this postseason on Aug. 5 during round-robin play in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, and the Avalanche shut out the Stars 4-0. Pavel Francouz made his first career playoff start and earned the shutout win, while Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist), Joonas Donskoi (one goal, one assist) and Samuel Girard (two assists) each recorded multi-point outings.
During the regular season, Colorado went 0-2-2 against its division rival. The Avs dropped the first two outings in regulation, losing 2-1 on Nov. 1 and 4-1 on Nov. 5. Colorado then fell by 3-2 scores in the final two outings, losing in a shootout on Dec. 28 and in overtime on Jan. 14. J.T. Compher led the squad with two goals, while MacKinnon earned three points (one goal, two assists) to claim the team's top spot.
Colorado has earned a 69-53-23 all-time record against the Stars franchise during the regular season and owns a 46-35-19 mark against the club since moving to Denver for the 1995-96 campaign. MacKinnon's 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 31 regular-season outings against Dallas are the most he's tallied against any one opponent in his career.
This year marks the fifth time that the teams have met in the playoffs, with each club having won two of the previous sets. The Stars won back-to-back Game 7s during the 1999 and 2000 Western Conference Finals, but Colorado won the last two meetings, both in five games, in the 2004 and 2006 conference quarterfinals.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltender Pavel Francouz was unfit to play in Game 5 and is likely to remain unavailable… Injured players Matt Calvert, Joonas Donskoi, Philipp Grubauer and Erik Johnson are also likely to be out for Game 6… Head coach Jared Bednar did not give any lineup details for Game 6 following Tuesday's optional practice.

SCOUTING THE STARS

Dallas has only allowed three power-play goals from the Avalanche, with two of them coming in Game 2. The Stars have killed 20-of-23 penalties in the series, giving the club an 87-percent success rate. The power play has also been a factor in Dallas' success with the team scoring on 35 percent of its man-advantage opportunities in Round 2, the most of any team. The Stars' seven power-play goals are the most among the remaining clubs. Additionally, Dallas is tied for the league-lead in goals in the first and third periods during the second round, scoring seven and eight, respectively.

(AVS) PLAYER TO WATCH: Valeri Nichushkin

Valeri Nichushkin has recorded three points (two goals, one assist) in the past two games against his former club. The forward netted his first two goals of the 2020 postseason in Game 4 and notched a helper in Game 5 on Colorado's fourth marker. He's already set career highs in goals (two), points (three) and shots (16) in these playoffs. Additionally, he ranks second on Colorado this postseason with 46 hits. Nichushkin played in three previous Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Stars.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Denis Gurianov

Denis Gurianov is tied for the second-most points on Dallas in Round 2, notching six points (two goals, four assists). He factored in on each of the Stars' goals in Game 5 with three assists and is currently on a four-game point streak during this series. Gurianov is in the first playoff run of his career and has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) through 14 games, which includes a four-goal, five-point outing on Aug. 20 in Game 6 of the first round against the Calgary Flames.

NUMBERS GAME

1

Logan O'Connor recorded a helper in Game 5 to earn his first career playoff point.

2:36

Colorado scored four goals in a 2:36 span midway through the first period of Game 5, the second-fastest four goals by one team in a playoff game in NHL history. The Avalanche was one second shy of tying the mark set by the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the 1944 semifinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs (2:35).

6x2

The Avs have scored six goals in each of their wins against the Stars. In addition to winning 6-3 in Game 5, Colorado won Game 3 by a 6-4 margin.

23

The Avalanche set a new franchise record by taking 23 shots in the first period of Game 5. The previous mark of 21 shots was last accomplished in the first period against the Calgary Flames on April 15, 2019.

NOTEBOOK

Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to 13 games, the longest playoff point streak since 2010 (Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks)… MacKinnon also leads the league with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) so far in the postseason… Cale Makar is tied for the rookie scoring lead in the playoffs with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists)… Colorado has started three different goaltenders in the postseason for the second time in franchise history (Quebec Nordiques, 1995)… Mikko Rantanen (career-long eight games), Cale Makar (four games), Andre Burakovsky (three games) and Nazem Kadri (three games) each extended their respective point streaks in Game 5… The Avalanche has three players in the top 10 for points in the postseason, more than any other club.