Colorado Can't Withstand Momentum Swing in Game 2

The Colorado Avalanche started Game 2 strong in its Second Round series against the Dallas Stars but once the momentum started to swing in the Stars' favor, the Avs weren't able to get it back.
Colorado had a two-goal lead 8:44 into the second period after Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each tallied, but Dallas started its comeback just over a minute later and eventually won 5-2 on Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Stars ultimately scored five unanswered goals, beginning with two on the power play in less than a minute to knot the contest at 2-2. Five minutes later, Alexander Radulov had a lucky bounce to register the eventual game-winning goal and Colorado wasn't able to get back to its usual style of play. The tally came just after a faceoff when the puck caromed off Radulov's body and fluttered into the net.

"I think if you look at our effort and our competitiveness and our game through the first period, even into the second, it was really good. It was what we wanted to try and do," said head coach Jared Bednar. "It seemed like we were rolling right along and how quickly you can see things change … To me, not the end of the world yet, it's 2-2 and we have a chance after that to go ahead. They get the bounce off the faceoff where they throw one to the front of the net, I don't think there's anything we can do there, I think we are in really good coverage, it just sort of takes a funny skip and hits their guy high and goes over Frankie. Then we are kind of reeling, now we are questioning ourselves in a hurry.
"We made a couple bad decisions, like I said the penalties, a turnover, a clear here or there, but a bad bounce shouldn't define the rest of our game. We have got to be stronger, to me, mentally than that. I think we got a little disappointed and started feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit and there was still half a game to play and it cost us. I think we can handle it better and we are going to have to moving forward."

The Avs dictated the pace of play in the opening frame and had the puck on their sticks for much of the stanza, holding a 20-6 edge in shots on goal at the first intermission.
Colorado's tallies both came on the power play and the team earned three more man-advantage chances after falling behind, but the squad wasn't able to capitalize on them.
"We got the game in our hands there, really through the first 30 minutes of the game and then they get a power play… Obviously they capitalize and it's a 2-2 hockey game after that," said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. "They get a bounce and they get a lead… Either way we got to find a way to get some more scoring chances in the third and find a way to get some more pressure on Khudobin. I think for some reason we couldn't get back on our feet after that second period."
In the Avs' push in the third period, they outshot the Stars 9-3, with only two of Dallas' shots coming before goaltender Pavel Francouz left the crease for an extra attacker with about three minutes remaining in regulation. However, none of the pucks found twine and Colorado is now trailing by two games in the Round 2 series.
"As frustrating and disappointing as it is, we have to find a way as a coaching staff and as a team to get together and move past it and put our best foot forward. That's the only way out of this: to work out of this," said Bednar. "It's not all doom and gloom because it's a seven-game series. We expected it to be a tough one, we expected it to go the distance and we are going to have to be the ones that force it to go the distance. Our best is yet to come, I believe that, and we will clear up a few things. It's about now just getting our mindset ready for Game 3. I don't believe it is a lot of tactical or structural play, it's about trying to get the most out of every player that we have here and collectively as a group as well."
Colorado's next chance to get its first win in the series and start its own comeback will be in the third matchup of the set on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. MT.
"For us, it's a seven-game series for a reason, right? We feel more than anything that we are in this thing," Landeskog said. "We have been up 2-0 before, and we know how quick it can turn and all of a sudden it's a tight series. For us, like I said, it's a seven-game series for a reason and there is no quit in this group."

MACKINNON EXTENDS STREAK

Nathan MacKinnon factored on both Avalanche goals and has now tallied at least a point in each of Colorado's 10 postseason games this year to match the Avs/Quebec Nordiques franchise record for the longest point streak in a single playoff year. His stretch ties Joe Sakic (1996) and Marian Stastny (1982), with Sakic's also coming in postseason-opening fashion.

MacKinnon netted his seventh goal of playoffs and the 18th of his career, moving him into a tie with Sandis Ozolinsh and Alex Tanguay for eighth all-time in Avalanche franchise history during the playoffs (since 1995-96).
The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native recorded seven shots in the opening period, the most by an Avalanche/Nordiques player in a playoff period since the stat began being tracked in 1989-90. It's the most shots in a playoff period by any player since James Neal recorded seven for Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia on April 15, 2012 (2nd period).
MacKinnon leads the league with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) and his seven goals are tied for the lead so far this postseason as well.

MORE POSTGAME NOTES

Mikko Rantanen scored and added an assist to extend his point streak to five games. He's collected eight points (three goals, five assists) over that span and now has 13 points in the playoffs (four goals, nine assists), tied for third in the NHL.
Cale Makar logged 27:48 of ice time, the most minutes ever by an Avalanche rookie in the playoffs.
Valeri Nichushkin recorded a playoff career-high eight hits.
Kevin Connauton appeared in his first postseason contest in an Avalanche sweater, playing in his first playoff game since April 25, 2014 as a member of the Dallas Stars.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare reached a new postseason career high with six hits in the outing, surpassing his previous best of five (April 26, 2018 vs. San Jose).