Dallas Stars look to push the Colorado Avalanche on the brink of elimination

The Dallas Stars have a 2-1 series lead against the Colorado Avalanche after a dominating 4-1 performance from the veterans and the rookies. The Stars can put pressure on the Avalanche tonight in game four by pushing them to the brink of elimination. The Stars showed up to game three and went out there and punched the Avalanche in the face. It shows that the Stars have the postseason road mentality that the Texas Rangers had during their playoff run last season.

The Stars can't relax after scoring a goal because the Avalanche would love to tie the series up again and force game six back in Colorado later this week. They must do what they did in game three to have a shot of eliminating them in game five back in Dallas on Wednesday night. This Avalanche team will not go into the night without a fight. Staying out of the penalty box and putting pressure on their goaltenders are must-dos tonight. Here are the three keys of the game tonight against the Avalanche.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 3. Gut punch them

Getting out to that early first-period lead will be crucial if the Stars want to push the Avalanche to the brink of elimination. The Avalanche will be looking to take the Stars out of the game early by burying them under a lot of snow. The Stars did a good job pressuring Alexander Georgiev to the point they put the puck past him. That should be what the Stars want to do again tonight, so they have the best shot of winning the game.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 2. Stop Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar

This key of the game will not go away until the Stars eliminate the Avalanche from the playoffs. MacKinnon and Makar are some of the best players at their positions in the league. If Chris Tanev didn't sacrifice his body, MacKinnon would have scored in game three on Saturday night. The Stars must shut them down once again if they want to see the Western Conference Finals on the horizon. If the Stars can shut down both players, they should push the Avalanche to the brink of elimination.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 1. No mercy

The Stars can send another strong message to the league tonight by dominating the Avalanche for sixty minutes. That means shutting down the Avalanche to the point they can't set up on the Stars' side of the ice to score goals. It also means scoring multiple goals to take them out of the game to the point a comeback isn't feasible. The Stars can't give them any hope in the series later tonight. If the Stars can shut them down like in game three, the Avalanche will be on the brink of elimination.

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