The Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche will face off in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs later tonight. It's going to be a dogfight between both teams, with the Avalanche looking to get revenge on the Stars, who eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs last season. Here at Blackout Dallas, we love to do playoff predictions for each playoff series the Stars play in. Here are our predictions for the first round of the playoffs against the Avalanche.
George Delanjian, Blackout Dallas Contributor: Stars in 7
The Stars and Avalanche will face off in what seems to have been an inevitable matchup for close to two months now. This will be a very competitive series, as these two teams are very well matched. It will likely be emotional, especially for Mikko Rantanen, who will be facing pretty much the only team he knew before this season.
You can expect him to play this series with a massive given his show, with ulterior motives, should shoulder things end there. Coincidentally, it appears the Stars will get veteran Tyler Seguin back while the Avalanche will get back a veteran of their own in Gabriel Landeskog. Colorado has won the season series 2-1, with each team winning on their home ice. This should play a key role for the Stars, who have home ice advantage.
I don’t see this series going any less than six games. I think this series is going the full seven, with Dallas coming out on top, primarily attributed to the home ice advantage, which I believe will be the actual difference maker in this series. Not having Miro Heiskanen will be exposed this series since the Avalanche know how to put the puck into the back of the net, ranking in the top five along with the Stars.
The Stars must do their best to mitigate that damage by having the blue line continue to increase. They also need a significant contribution from Thomas Harley, who is out to prove his contract extension is justified, especially after a lackluster postseason last year. If the defense struggles in this series, they will need to lean on their high-octane offense, which the organization dumped a lot of resources into this season. I think this was to help offset the setbacks suffered on defense this season, notably since Heiskanen, and to a lesser extent, Nils Lundkvist, got hurt.
Mahima Masih, Blackout Dallas Contributor: Avalanche in 7
Maybe it’s a destined narrative, or perhaps this is just the consequence of the current playoff structure, but like it or not, whether the Dallas Stars will once again face the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs, there are so many aspects of this series to highlight.
Mikko Rantanen will wear green and battle his former team. Gabriel Landeskog is “available for the first round,” which, after two seasons without their captain, has got to shoot some life into the Avalanche.
Tyler Seguin is back (albeit given rampant “play through pain” mentality of hockey, who knows how recovered he really is). Miro Heiskanen is NOT back. Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell are holding the defense together through the power of friendship. Jason Robertson became week-to-week after an injury during the last game of the season. That’s the long way to say that the Stars are not in the best shape.
Momentum matters and the Stars are headed into these playoffs on a 7-game losing streak. That would be bad enough, but that string of losses has emphasized their inability to play 60 minutes of hockey. For a team that was once known for comebacks, they have become incredible at forgetting how even to spell hockey after two periods. Every second matters in the playoffs, and luck won’t be enough to get them wins against the Avalanche.
It pains me to write this, but Avalanche in 7. I really hope Dallas proves me wrong.
Nick Lacoste, Blackout Dallas Contributor: Avalanche in 6
Despite staying loyal to Dallas over the past few predictions, and being in a year that many may consider Dallas’s best chance at a Stanley Cup, I fear for Dallas this time. In game 82 of the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, with a playoff spot clinched but on a 6-game losing streak, the Stars chose to play their full roster and suffered the consequences. At the same time, teams like Carolina were healthy-scratching 5+ key players to protect them from injury and give them rest in a meaningless game.
Dallas not only lost 5-1 to a team that did not qualify for the playoffs (Nashville) despite using their ‘playoff’ roster, and Jason Robertson was seen leaving the arena in a walking boot. Therefore, Dallas loses their best goal-scorer and goes into the playoffs on a 7-game losing streak. For a team that had clinched the playoffs weeks ago, there is little to no confidence on my end regarding their preparation, energy levels, and ability to play a rush-heavy all-in system without defensively gifted players on the back end.
The tactics may have worked in January, but the physical demands of a high-skating team, as opposed to a team like Washington which has built its systems around players like Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, show, me how a coach can build a sustainable system while others can build a high-risk high-reward system.
Without a high shooting percentage from the team’s forwards to make up for conceding a ton of shots and expected goals over the last few weeks, the team is on a downhill slope toward an early offseason. Dallas does play well at home, has a strong Penalty Kill, and is generally resilient, so I look forward to seeing how they bounce back from adversity when Nathan MacKinnon wins Colorado a few games.
Brian Sweet, Blackout Dallas Site Expert: Stars in 7
This will be one of those series that goes the distance. There's no way the Avalanche many walk into this series and dogwalk the Stars. Dallas has a lot of hungry veterans who dream of raising the Stanley Cup and have been close the last couple of seasons. One of those players is Jamie Benn, who is running out of time in his career to win the cup. Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill has rewarded this team for their hard work by getting the Stars a couple of players that could help put them over the top.
One of those players is Mikko Rantanen, who was acquired at the trade deadline this season. The Stars brought in a player who could have been the missing piece last season against the Edmonton Oilers. After getting stiffed by his former team, Rantanen has the opportunity to stick a dagger in the Avalanche's hope of raising the Stanley Cup this season. However, the Stars do have their obstacles they face heading into this series.
That obstacle is trying to win games without Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson in the lineup. Heiskanen has been the "glue" that has held the defense together this season, with all the injuries the Stars faced in the first half of the season. After Heiskanen went down with a knee injury, that defense became loose and cost the Stars some games they should have won in the first place. With Heiskanen skating with the team, it's only a matter of time before he enters the series.
I think the Stars are going to go the distance and keep Pete DeBoer's game-seven winning streak going. The Stars have a lot of veteran leadership that will help them get through the ups and downs of this series. The Avalanche has improved its team since the Stars eliminated them in double overtime last year. Both teams are going to swing for the fences and play like the season is on the line for seven games. The Stars will be the team that comes out on top, advancing to the next round of the playoffs.