Dallas reaches the top of the Rocky Mountains with a win over the Avalanche

In the words of former Dallas Stars goalie Anton Khudobin, "We're not going home." Technically, the Stars are flying back to Dallas for the Western Conference Finals. Matt Duchene was the overtime hero in this game since he scored the game-winning goal against his former team and eliminated the Colorado Avalanche from the playoffs. Their road record improves to 5-1 during the postseason this year. After seeing the fatigue early on in the game, the Stars could use a few days to recover before the next series.

It won't be easy moving forward for Dallas. They will go up against one of the two best Canadian teams in the NHL in the next round. If the Vancouver Canucks win tomorrow night, the Stars will hit the ice to prepare for a good team. If the Canucks don't win, then the Stars will have to wait for whoever wins game seven. The takeaway from this little break is it allows Roope Hintz to recover before the next series.

Before we get to the takeaways from game six, I wouldn't be writing this positive article without how Jake Oettinger played last night. He is the main reason the Stars even had a shot of winning the game going into the third period tonight. He was showing stuff we saw in the playoff series against the Calgary Flames two seasons ago. He deserves a nice round of golf tomorrow and an ice bath after the game. Some fans questioned whether he had the talent for the Stars to return to the Western Conference Finals. Oettinger showed that last night for four and a half periods. Here are the three takeaways from last night's win over the Avalanche.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 3. Never giving up

The Stars were slow out of the gate, and it looked like the Avalanche had the faster legs from the beginning of the game. It was not a good sign for Stars fans who watched the game. However, that didn't get the Stars down because they tied the game up in the third period with a goal from Jamie Benn. That pass from Dadonov was smooth, along with Benn's finish on the goal. Even after the first overtime goal was overturned, they didn't give up until Matt Duchene roofed the puck into the net.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 2. Focusing on the task at hand

The league needs to rewrite the rules on goaltender interference after the playoffs. The Stars game went on an hour more than it needed to. That was a perfect screen in front of the net, and Marchment should have been the OT hero. However, they overturned the goal and resumed play like nothing ever happened. The Stars could have let that affect them on the ice, but they didn't and closed out the series.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 1. Oettinger

The Stars wouldn't be advancing to the Western Conference Finals without Oettinger's performance. He made saves left and right to allow Dallas to win the game in OT. You could tell in the postgame interview that he was exhausted and wanted to take an ice bath. Dallas Stars Radio Analyst Bruce LeVine said Oettinger's road numbers in the playoffs are unreal. He's an unreal goalie and deserves having couple of days off recovering before the Western Conference Finals next week.

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