The playoffs are complicated. Each series is its own story, and each game is its own chapter encompassing a dozen moments and plot points. But the playoffs can also be simple. Each of those moments, those plot points, falls into one of two buckets: the things we observe and the emotions they inspire within us. That’s what we’re here to talk about.
What We Saw
Two second-period goals defined this game.
First, Nathan MacKinnon danced and dashed and sliced the Stars’ defense, setting the stage for Mikko Rantanen to temporarily tie the game for the Avalanche. Just one of the best players on Earth acting like the best player on Earth.
Roughly five minutes later, Dallas scored the type of goal that best defines this team, when all six Stars on the ice touched the puck in a 200-foot buildup. It started with Jake Oettinger playing sweeper and leaving for Thomas Harley to rim the puck around to Chris Tanev, who outletted quickly to Sam Steel. Steel put in the neutral zone work before making an area pass to Evgenii Dadonov, who made another seeing-eye pass to Tyler Seguin crashing the back post to give Dallas a 2-1 lead.
It was beautiful team hockey from start to finish.
That offensive sequence—total team buy-in—reflected what the Stars did defensively as they frustrated and silenced the Avalanche at home. Colorado had the shot quantity, sure, but the silent building and the frustrated glances skyward on the Avalanche bench summed it up best. This was a defensive clinic by the Stars.
That was especially true in the third period, when Dallas took the lessons of Game 1 and 2 and didn’t let Colorado get going. The Stars played to the score; they dropped back a bit more defensively, daring the Avalanche to try to skate and beat them. On the few occasions Colorado obliged, Oettinger was sublime in holding and freezing rebounds.
Tanev also had one of his best nights in a Stars uniform, even if he was the one MacKinnon waltzed by for the lone Avalanche goal. The key deadline acquisition shaped this game, creating and expanding a bubble around Oettinger with both his skating and physicality. In the few moments he was on his heels, Tanev came through with a couple of key blocks and also served as a foundational piece of a perfect three-for-three penalty killing effort.
Seguin and Logan Stankoven may have scored twice, both adding their second goals into the empty net. But this game was won with a total team effort that started on the back end. —Sean Shapiro
What It Felt Like
The playoffs are filled with plenty of obvious challenges. In Dallas’ case, there are three. The Stars have to contend with one of the game’s best forwards in Nathan MacKinnon, one of the best defenders in Cale Makar, and on Saturday, they had to do it in Denver, where the Avalanche are damn near unbeatable.
Lo and behold, Dallas managed to overcome all three.
This is the kind of statement win that should have ripple effects. It’s the confidence of having a series lead, sure, but also the confidence in Pete DeBoer’s ability to outwit Jared Bednar. (For that matter, maybe some additional confidence in Jim Nill’s ability to stack the deck [read: Chris Tanev] against hockey’s most dangerous offense.) The Avalanche might have needed a lot of third period heroics to make this series competitive, but Colorado is built on velocity. The fact that they haven’t been able to build any of it beyond small spurts feels more important than Dallas simply having two wins to Colorado’s one.
The Stars now have genuine control of the series, and they’ve been building it for longer than Saturday night. Whether it’s Jake Oettinger reasserting his focus, Logan Stankoven getting back on a scoreboard that had eluded him, or veterans such as Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Evgenii Dadonov exerting their own presence and pressure, this is a Dallas squad with a lot of wind at a lot of sails.
However, one adjustment deserves another. All the Avalanche need is a win in their barn, and then it’s a best of three featuring some of the game’s best players. That’s certainly a possibility given Colorado’s firepower. But if you want a sense of comfort, insofar as such a thing exists in these Western Conference semifinals, look no further than Colorado’s power play. Botched passes, bad routes, giving up chances the other way, teammates running into each other—that scans like deep frustration, if not a lack of answers. We’re not used to the Avs being out of answers.
Don’t get it twisted: Dallas hasn’t won everything. But the Stars won Game 3 in Denver. That’s a hell of a statement. —David Castillo
Authors
Sean Shapiro
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