Avalanche's late rally frustrates Stars in tough loss

Just when it looked like the Dallas Stars were about to pull off a third-period rally to win in Denver, the Colorado Avalanche staged their own rally, scoring twice in 46 seconds late in the game to knock off the Stars, 3-2, at Pepsi Center.
"It's frustrating," said Stars forward Blake Comeau. "We grinded all game, did a lot of good things and found a way to get a lead with five minutes left, and to come away with nothing is frustrating."
Radek Faksa and Jamie Benn scored in the third period as the Stars erased a 1-0 deficit and grabbed a 2-1 lead. But Colorado tied the game with 2:42 remaining on a J.T. Compher goal and then took the lead for good with 1:56 remaining on a goal by Mikko Rantanen.
"Good teams have to control the game when it's a one-goal lead, especially on the road," said Faksa. "I think it's a wasted two points."

The Stars and Avalanche both were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Dallas was able to hang tough through 40 minutes thanks to goaltender Anton Khudobin, who finished with 33 saves, and the penalty kill, which went 4-for-4 against the league's top power play. Things opened up in the third period with the two teams combining for 33 shots on goal and four goals.

"It was a great game to be a part of. We're frustrated and disappointed that we are on the wrong end of it," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. "But if we keep playing like we did tonight I am really optimistic about where we'll end up."
Saturday's game capped off a stretch where the Stars played six games in nine days and went 3-3-0. They are 12-10-2 on the season including 4-7-1 on the road.
Rantanen had one goal and one assist for the Avalanche who won their fourth straight game, pushed their points streak to seven games (6-0-1) and improved to 13-6-4 on the season.
"I think it tells the story about our locker room and our character, what we have going on in here," said Rantanen. "It wasn't the first time we were down in the third period, and still we find a way to win."
After a first period in which neither team scored, and both had six shots on goal, the Avalanche broke the scoreless tie at 13:11 of the second. After the Stars turned the puck over in the neutral zone, the Avalanche entered the Dallas zone, and MacKinnon scored on a one-timer off a cross-ice feed from Mikko Rantanen.

That sent the game to the third period where the Stars had some early pressure and eventually tied the game at 11:32 mark. After a Tyler Seguin faceoff win, Alexander Radulov put a shot on goal and Faksa scored off the rebound to make it a 1-1 game.
The Stars took the lead with 4:47 remaining when the Radulov won a puck battle and got the puck to Seguin whose centering pass was put in the net by Benn to put the Stars ahead 2-1.
But the Avalanche stepped up the pressure and tied the game with 2:42 remaining. The Avalanche put six shots on goal in 20 seconds and Compher tallied on the sixth one, backhanding a rebound of his own shot into the net, to tie the game 2-2. Just 46 seconds later, Rantanen scored off the rebound of an Erik Johnson shot, and Colorado had a 3-2 lead with 1:56 left.
The Stars pulled Khudobin with 1:29 remaining for the extra attacker but the Stars could get only one shot on Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov the rest of the way and the Avalanche held on for the 3-2 victory.
"It was a great comeback by us and a good team effort," said Faksa, "but we didn't control the last four minutes of the game, and it cost us two points."

Turning point

The game turned during about a one-minute span late in the third period. Colorado's second line has a great shift, puts a flurry of shots on the Stars net and J.T. Compher scores on the rebound of his own shot to tie the game 2-2 with 2:42 remaining. Then, less than a minute later, Colorado's top line goes to work. Nathan MacKinnon skates into the Dallas zone, pulls up and drops the puck off to defenseman Erik Johnson, who puts a shot net, and Mikko Rantanen scores off the rebound. Two goals in 46 seconds and Colorado leads 3-2.
"They made some great plays," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. "The game-winning goal, yeah, we lost coverage. But their top line forces you to."

Three stars of the game

Mikko Rantanen, Colorado: The game-winning goal and one assist for the league's top scorer.
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado:One goal, six shots on goal and eleven shot attempts for the league's second-leading scorer.
Anton Khudobin, Dallas:Stars goalie made 33 saves, including several big ones and gave his team a chance to win.

They said it

"There are no excuses, not at this level. You are based on results in this league. It sucks because I felt we grinded and did a lot of good things, stuck with it and found a way to get two in the third. But to come away with not a single point, stuff like that can't happen. That's just unacceptable."- Stars forward Blake Comeau
"I see growth tonight. This is the first time where we've had a setback where we competed for 60 minutes. For me, this is the first time where we've lost that I am excited where we are going. [The players'] frustration and stuff is because they played their hearts out and they didn't come out on top. When you empty the tank, it hurts a lot more than when you don't empty the tank. As a player it's frustrating, but as a coach you love to see the battle we had." - Stars coach Jim Montgomery

Stat pack

What's next

The Stars continue their road trip Tuesday in Edmonton. The Oilers (10-10-2) are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Anaheim on Friday and are 1-0-1 since former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock took over behind the bench.

Stars lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Roope Hintz - Jason Spezza - Devin Shore
Valeri Nichushkin - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Jason Dickinson - Blake Comeau
Esa Lindell - Miro Heiskanen
Gavin Bayreuther - Roman Polak
Julius Honka - Taylor Fedun
Anton Khudobin
Landon Bow
Scratched:Gemel Smith, Brett Ritchie, Joel Hanley
Injured: Ben Bishop (lower body), John Klingberg (hand), Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.