Kiviranta, who was called into service because of an injury to Andrew Cogliano, finished with a hat trick. The 24-year-old Finn, who signed with the Stars as a free agent last summer, played most of the season in the AHL and was one of the team's reserves in the Edmonton bubble. But given a chance to step into the lineup, Kiviranta was one of the team's best players from the opening drop of the puck, scoring on a nice redirection in the second period, cleaning up a rebound from a hard angle to tie the game with 3:30 remaining in regulation -- and then cashing in the game-winner in the most unexpected manner.
Sekera, who had no points in 15 playoff games before Friday, snuck up behind the attacking net, and held the puck, waiting for a player to get open. Kiviranta backed off about 10 feet from the goal mouth to find a hole in the defense and then banged in the game-winer.
"To tell you that we practice Andrej behind the offensive net making those saucer passes…no," Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. "That's just the way it works out. Andrej is a veteran and he made a great play. That's just the confidence the guys have right now. That's overtime hockey and that's bubble hockey.
"You just don't know what to expect, so you kind of roll with it."
The Stars have done that to a tee. In a year where they have overcome incredible adversity, they seem just fine living in the middle of a chaotic swirl. Friday was the perfect example. Dallas had a 3-1 lead on the Avalanche in the best-of-seven series, and then lost Games 5 and 6. That forced Game 7, and Colorado was the better team.
The Avalanche had a 44-36 advantage in shots on goal and an 84-65 advantage in shot attempts. They had a 4-3 lead with 3:40 remaining in the third period, and looked like they would kick the Stars in the gut once again. Dallas lost in double overtime last season to St. Louis in Game 7.