Getting Stanky With It: Stankoven's goals give Dallas the series lead

I was starting to get worried if the Stars rushed bringing Logan Stankoven up to the NHL after the goal drought he was on coming into the playoffs. Stankoven shut up Stars fans last night as his two goals led the Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. It also gives the Stars a 2-1 series lead going into game four on Monday night. It was an impressive display of offense from the Stars tonight. They will need that going into game four if they want to put the Avalanche on the brink of elimination and return to the Western Conference Finals.

Stankoven made the Stars' draft scouts look like a million dollars last night. It's puzzling how the Stars drafted Wyatt Johnston in the first round and picked up Logan Stankoven in the second round like it was a supermarket BOGO deal. Teams across the league were concerned about his size, but how he played last night proved every draft scout wrong. Dallas got two gems in the 2021 NHL Draft and is reaping the rewards in the postseason. Here are the three takeaways from the win over the Avalanche last night.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 3. Getting a spark from the future of the franchise

It was about time that Stankoven's efforts would pay off with his first career postseason goal. His timely goal in the first period would spark the offense after trying to get things going on offense. Tyler Seguin contributed a goal in the second period and would score the first empty-net goal of the game. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all a team needs to get going is for someone to open up the scoring. The future of the Stars franchise did that tonight, and it's why the Stars have a 2-1 series lead.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 2. Chris Tanev

There is a reason why the Stars out-bid the Avalanche for Chris Tanev, and he showed it on the ice last night. He is why the Avalanche didn't get momentum after the Mikko Rantanen goal in the second period. He also blocked a Nathan MacKinnon goal that would have gone in if it wasn't for him. His defense single-handedly shut down the Avalanche's offense from doing any real damage. Jim Nill will look like a hero making that trade if the Stars win the Western Conference this year.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: 1. Pete DeBoer

Pete DeBoer does not give enough credit for changing his game plan after game one against the Avalanche. Those tweaks to the game plan have paid off in the last two games. Stankoven was the primary example of why the Stars won game three. That speed the top line has now with Stankoven will cause issues for playoff opponents. Let's see if those changes can put the Avalanche on the brink of elimination Monday night.

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