Rapid Recap: Stars 5, Avalanche 4 - OT (Game 7)

Joel Kiviranta scored his third goal of the game 7:24 into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round on Friday afternoon at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
Dallas wins the best-of-seven series 4-3 and advances to the Western Conference Final where it will play the winner of Friday night's Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights.
The contest was tied four times, which included a wild finish to regulation. After Vladislav Namestnikov found the back of the net to put the Avs ahead with 3:40 remaining in the third period, Dallas' Kiviranta tallied for the second time in the afternoon just 10 seconds later to even the score once again.

Namestnikov also finished with a two-goal game, while Andre Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri had multi-point outings with a goal and an assist each. Ian Cole, J.T. Compher, Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov also contributed helpers for the Avs.
The Avalanche outshot the Stars 44-36 in the contest, with Colorado goaltender Michael Hutchinson making 31 saves.
The Avs led 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 after the second before the Stars tied the outing on a power play midway through the third stanza on a redirection by Alexander Radulov, who also tallied twice.
Statistics
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Photo Gallery
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Highlights
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Postgame Notes
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Video: Coach Bednar
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Video: Michael Hutchinson & Vladislav Namestnikov
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Video: Mikko Rantanen & Nathan MacKinnon
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THE GOALS

1st Period
2:39 DAL (0-1) - PPG, Alexander Radulov scored on a rebound in the low slot.
3:48 COL (1-1) - Vladislav Namestnikov redirected Ian Cole's outside shot to tie the game.
9:43 COL (2-1) - Andre Burakovsky stole the puck at the Dallas blue line and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle that went far-side.
2nd Period
3:06 DAL (2-2) - With an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty, Joel Kiviranta deflected Denis Gurianov's shot into the net.
5:45 COL (3-2) - PPG, Nazem Kadri knocked in a loose puck in the crease.
3rd Period
11:28 DAL (3-3) - PPG, John Klingberg's shot from the high slot was deflected in by Alexander Radulov.
16:20 COL (4-3) - Nikita Zadorov threw the puck on net and Vladislav Namestnikov knocked in a rebound.
16:30 DAL (4-4) - After the center-ice face-off, Joel Kiviranta recorded his second goal of the game by scoring on a rebound from a tough angle.
Overtime
7:24 DAL (4-5) - Joel Kiviranta found space in the slot, took a pass from Andrej Sekera and scored his third goal of the contest to complete the hat trick.
Final: Stars - 5 | Avalanche - 4 (Overtime)

3 STARS

1. Joel Kiviranta (DAL): Three goals, including the overtime-winner
2. Vladislav Namestnikov (COL): Tallied twice
3. Anton Khudobin (DAL): Made 40 saves

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 1 for 4
Dallas: 2 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Michael Hutchinson made his third consecutive start and made 31 saves.
Dallas: Anton Khudobin stopped 40 of the 44 shots he faced.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the playoffs and extended his point streak to five games (four goals, five assists). Burakovsky now has 13 points (9g/4a) in 13 elimination games, and his nine goals in such contests were the most among players still competing in the 2020 postseason as of Friday afternoon. He has four goals and five points in six career Game 7s.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche is now 6-9 all-time in Game 7 and owns a 4-8 mark since moving to Denver in 1996… Colorado and Dallas were playing in a Game 7 for the third time, with the Stars having won all three... Nazem Kadri scored his sixth power-play goal of the playoffs, tying Joe Sakic (6, 1996) for the most by an Avalanche player (since 1995-96) in a single playoff year. Quebec's Michel Goulet owns the franchise record with seven in 1985... With two goals, Vladislav Namestnikov recorded his first career multi-point game in his playoff career… Mikko Rantanen wore an 'A' as one of the team's alternate captains along with Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri with captain Gabriel Landeskog out with an injury... Rantanen extended his point streak to 10 games (six goals, 10 assists), tied for the second longest such stretch in the playoffs in franchise history… Rantanen had eight shots to set a new playoff career high (previous: 7, April 17, 2019 vs. Calgary)... Ian Cole recorded his first career point in a Game 7 with an assist (five games)... Nathan MacKinnon had his 14-game point streak come to an end. It was the longest in Avalanche franchise history and the longest in the postseason since 2006 (Eric Staal, 15 games). He recorded points in each of the first 14 games of the playoffs, tied for the second-longest streak to begin a postseason in NHL history... The Avs and Stars combined for 57 goals in the series, the third-most combined goals in a series that went seven games in NHL history. The San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames combined for 61 goals in the 1995 conference quarterfinals and the Edmonton Oilers and Flames combined for 60 goals in the 1984 division finals.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Jared Bednar on his players stepping up throughout the season and playoffs: "I'm proud of all of our guys. You're not going to be at your best every single day, but you got to find ways to carve out wins as a team. We did that for a while. It's disappointing at the end, but I can't fault our effort. Our effort and commitment was really good."
BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

And it begins.

ROSTER REPORT

Sheldon Dries played his first career game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while Kevin Connauton suited up in his fourth contest of the postseason… Vladislav Namestnikov moved to Gabriel Landeskog's spot on a line with Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin… Dries started the game at Namestnikov's old position on a line with J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost.

INJURY UPDATE

Forward Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Conor Timmins missed their first games of the postseason due to injuries… Matt Calvert, Joonas Donskoi, Pavel Francouz, Philipp Grubauer and Erik Johnson were out with injuries as well.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche's season is over.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
95 Andre Burakovsky - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
90 Vladislav Namestnikov - 91 Nazem Kadri - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
17 Tyson Jost - 37 J.T. Compher - 15 Sheldon Dries
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
16 Nikita Zadorov - 49 Samuel Girard
7 Kevin Connauton - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
35 Michael Hutchinson (starter)
32 Hunter Miska (backup)