Avalanche at Stars, Western Conference 1st Round Game 1 preview

DALLAS -- Mikko Rantanen will play against the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time when the Dallas Stars host Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN360, SN, TVAS).

The forward ranks fourth in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history with 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games, including 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 14 games against the Stars. He had five points (two goals, three assists) in six playoff games against Dallas last season, when the Avalanche lost to the Stars in six games in the second round.

Colorado traded Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal involving the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24; the Hurricanes then traded him to the Stars on March 7, and the pending unrestricted free agent signed an eight-year, $96 million contract (average annual value $9.25 million) with Dallas. He played one game against the Avalanche during the regular season, earning an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss at Ball Arena in Denver on March 16.

Here is a breakdown of Game 1:

Avalanche: Nine players are expected to return after missing games at the end of the regular season: forwards Ross Colton (four), Jonathan Drouin (six), Artturi Lehkonen (one), Nathan MacKinnon (three) and Valeri Nichushkin (one), along with defensemen Ryan Lindgren (three), Cale Makar (two), Josh Manson (15) and Devon Toews (two). Coach Jared Bednar declined to say whether captain Gabriel Landeskog will return from a knee injury for the first time since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022, but the forward stayed on the ice for extra work at the end of the morning skate, a sign he will miss Game 1.

Stars: Defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who missed the last 32 games of the regular-season with a lower-body injury, participated in the morning skate. Coach Pete DeBoer upgraded him from week to week to day to day but said he will not play Game 1. Forward Jason Robertson is week to week after sustaining a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale, a 5-1 loss at the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Heiskanen led Dallas with eight points (four goals, four assists) and 172:16 of ice time in six playoff games against the Avalanche last season. Robertson led the Stars with 35 goals during the regular season.

Number to know: 7. That’s how many consecutive times Dallas has lost Game 1 of a best-of-7 series. The Avalanche are 7-2 in their past nine Game 1s, including a 4-3 overtime win at Dallas last year.

What to look for: Can the Stars break their Game 1 losing streak after losing their last seven regular-season games (0-5-2)? How does Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood look in his playoff debut?

What they are saying

“We need to get to the interior of the ice more in their defensive zone and cause some havoc in front of [goalie Jake] Oettinger.” -- Bednar, on what the Avalanche have to do better against the Stars in the playoffs this year

“That’s sometimes a weakness of ours. We tip-toe in. We’ve lost a lot of Game 1s because of that. We’ve got to come out swinging, and that’s something I want to talk to the guys about and we need to be talking about as a group. We’ve got to come out and try to punch them in the mouth right away, because we know that’s what they do, and that’s what they do very well.” -- Stars center Matt Duchene

Avalanche projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichuskin

Jonathan Drouin -- Brock Nelson -- Martin Necas

Joel Kiviranta -- Charlie Coyle -- Ross Colton

Parker Kelly -- Jack Drury -- Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews -- Cale Makar

Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson

Ryan Lindgren -- Sam Malinski

Mackenzie Blackwood

Scott Wedgewood

Scratched: Erik Johnson, Keaton Middleton, Jimmy Vesey, Miles Wood

Injured: Gabriel Landeskog (knee surgery)

Stars projected lineup

Mikael Granlund -- Roope Hintz -- Evgenii Dadonov

Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Tyler Seguin

Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Mikko Rantanen

Oskar Back -- Sam Steel -- Mavrik Bourque

Thomas Harley -- Ilya Lyubushkin

Esa Lindell -- Cody Ceci

Lian Bichsel -- Alexander Petrovic

Jake Oettinger

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Colin Blackwell, Mathew Dumba, Brendan Smith

Injured: Miro Heiskanen (knee), Nils Lundkvist (shoulder), Jason Robertson (lower body)

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. … Avalanche coach Jared Bednar did not confirm any lineup changes. ... Bichsel and Petrovic each was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Friday.

NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report