Series preview: Stars, Avalanche renew familiar playoff rivalry

For Stars fans, the specter of facing the Colorado Avalanche in a playoff series brings memories both fond and frustrating.

Two of the biggest moments in franchise history came when Dallas beat Colorado twice in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in both 1999 and 2000. Two of the lowest points came in 2004 and 2006 when the Avalanche won first round series in five games.

This year, the two will rekindle that rivalry, and the result could be a doozy.

Dallas went 4-0-0 against Colorado this season, but the games were tight. Dallas won 2-1 on Nov. 1, 4-1 on Nov. 5, 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 28 and 3-2 in overtime Jan. 14. A more recent example that favors the Avalanche was a 4-0 blowout in round-robin play Aug. 5. Dallas outshot 40-27 and Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said the game was a wake-up call for his team early in the Return to Play.

"Tonight is tough," Bowness said after the Aug. 5 loss. "That's a great hockey club. They're fast. We had our chances to get back in the game and we didn't capitalize. In terms of evaluating us, we know how we have to play."

So are the Stars the team that beat Colorado four times during the regular season or are they the team that was crushed in round-robin play? Well, they definitely have improved during their time in the bubble. Dallas ended the regular season 26th in goal scoring at 2.58 goals per game, but then scored 17 goals in its last four games against the Flames.

"I think that going into this (Calgary) series, we had confidence that we could be in this position that we're in right now," said forward Joe Pavelski, who currently is tied for the lead in NHL playoff goal scoring with six. "There are ups and downs. That's playoffs and that's a series."

And now?

"Just confidence and understanding that our game works," Pavelski said. "It's a big commitment to play a certain way, but it's playoffs right now and guys are battling for each other. We came up with some huge plays along the way."

Bowness said at the start of training camp that Dallas wanted to engage its defensemen and have them join the attack more. That would allow Dallas to outnumber the opposition and create both more offensive zone time possession and more scoring chances. That's worked in the playoffs, as Dallas has upped its shots on goal total four shots per game up to 34.1 in the postseason.

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In addition, the goals per game are up to 2.78 in the playoffs.

"They've gotten better as the qualifier and playoff has gone on," Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said. "They battled back against Calgary, got some timely goals, and they're a veteran team with some really good defensemen who log a lot of minutes and do a lot of heavy lifting for them. Some guys up front who can put the puck in the net. It's probably a heavier series, probably some more physicality than we had in the last one. So we're looking forward to it."

On the flip side, the Stars goals against are up to 3.00 from 2.52 during the regular season and goalie Ben Bishop, who was spectacular in the regular season against Colorado, has been "unfit to play" in recent games. Bishop went 3-0-0 against the Avalanche with a 1.61 GAA and .959 save percentage during the regular season, but Anton Khudobin was no slouch. He went 1.00 with a .974 save percentage in his one game this season.

Colorado struggled with injuries during the regular season and now looks healthy. In addition to crushing the Stars in round-robin play, they dispatched Arizona easily in the first round and are dominating the postseason statistic sheet.

Colorado ranks first in scoring in the playoffs at 3.88 goals per game, first in goals against at 1.63 and first in goal differential at plus-2.25. The Avalanche are third in shots on goal per game at 37.3 and first in fewest shots on goal against at 24.1. They also rank first in power-play success at 30.6 percent with an astounding 11 power-play goals in eight games.

They're fifth on the penalty kill and have allowed just three power-play goals against.

Philipp Grubauer, who was 0-2-2 against the Stars during the regular season with a 2.70 GAA, has posted a 5-1-0 record in the postseason with a 1.49 GAA and .937 save percentage. Nathan MacKinnon leads all playoff scorers with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in eight games, while Nazem Kadri has 11 points (six goals, five assists).

Miro Heiskanen leads Dallas with 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in nine games, while Pavelski and Denis Gurianov each have six goals.

For both teams, they know what's on the line.

"Obviously, this is a team we know pretty well from playing in the regular season," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "Them or us, we're not changing a whole lot from when we were playing in the regular season, even though it's playoff time. I think they had a bit of a slow start coming into the bubble, but it looks recently they're firing on all cylinders. They're starting to look like the team they expected to be."

Game 1: Stars vs. Avalanche

Tonight, 7 p.m. CT

Where:Rogers Place, Edmonton

TV: NBC, Ch. 5

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Video: John Klingberg gets mic'd up for Stars' Game 6 winis a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter Video: John Klingberg gets mic'd up for Stars' Game 6 win, and listen to his Video: John Klingberg gets mic'd up for Stars' Game 6 win.