The Dallas Stars will face off against the Colorado Avalanche in their first game of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sparks will fly after the first puck drop to kick off this series. The Stars will be shorthanded, with Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen officially out tonight. It will also be interesting to see how the Stars do in game 1's this season. Last season, the Stars didn't do so well in game one, but would bounce back and play better as the series progressed.
The Stars do get some relief tonight because the Avalanche won't have their captain back just yet. The Avalanche seems to give him more time to get used to skating after completing a conditioning stint in the AHL. The Stars can't afford for the Avalanche to take advantage of the American Airlines Center. Dallas earned their home-ice advantage and needs to capitalize on it. Here are the four keys to the game tonight against the Avalanche.
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche Preview: 4. Shut down their two big dogs
The Stars can't allow Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon to take over the game tonight. While it's impossible to completely shut down out of the game, the Stars need to limit them from making a difference on the ice tonight. The last thing the Stars need is for either player to spark a flame and the Avalanche take over the game. That is the worst thing that could happen with Heiskanen out of the lineup tonight. If the Stars can limit both players from doing damage, they can start off with a 1-0 series lead.
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche Preview: 3. Will anyone score
The Stars' offense has had some issues down the stretch recently. Now is not the time for the scoring to completely stop. This season, the fourth line cannot carry the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals. Players like Jamie Benn, Wyatt Johnston, and Mikko Rantanen must take over the game tonight. I don't think Stars fans care who scores in tonight's game. They want someone to step up and melt the Avalanche tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche Preview: 2. Shut down Martin Necas
While MacKinnon and Makar are superb scorers, they have a secret assassin on the team that Dallas needs to stop, Martin Necas. He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes before the Stars acquired him at the trade deadline. After being traded to the Avalanche, it seems Necas developed chemistry with his new teammates and became a scoring threat. The Stars need to stop Necas because he is a player I worry about heading into this series.
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche Preview: 1. Get nasty
The Stars need to bring that aggressiveness against the Avalanche tonight. While the Stars have been conservative on defense down the stretch, now is not the time to do that in game 1. I look forward to seeing Lian Bichsel fly players into the boards tonight. That's the only way the Stars will be able to disrupt the Avalanche's game flow tonight. Now it's time to let out that frustration from the seven-game losing streak that the Staron has entered the playoffs on.