Mackenzie Blackwood’s first Stanley Cup Playoff game was one he’ll always remember – and the Dallas Stars would like to forget.
Blackwood, acquired by the Colorado Avalanche from the San Jose Sharks in early December, made 23 saves in his first postseason appearance to lead the Avalanche to a 5-1 win against the Stars at American Airlines Center in the opener of their Western Conference First Round series.
Colorado got second-period goals from Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon and led 2-0 after 40 minutes. After Roope Hintz got the Stars on the board 6:45 into the third period, a goal by Avs defenseman Devon Toews at 12:56 gave Colorado some breathing room. MacKinnon added an empty-netter with 3:08 left, and Charlie Coyle scored 11 seconds later to turn the game into a blowout.
“It’s playoffs, we need everyone going,” MacKinnon said, “and I thought everybody made an impact”
But it was Blackwood’s night. The 28-year-old was sharp from the opening face-off, giving the Avalanche exactly the sort of goaltending they hadn’t been getting in the first two months of the season. His biggest save of the night came seconds before Toews’ goal, when he robbed Mason Marchment from the slot on a shot that appeared to hit his hip.
The Stars’ only goal came when the knob of Blackwood’s stick got caught in the mesh of the net, leaving him almost defenseless when Hintz deflected Thomas Harley’s shot into the net.
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3 Takeaways after Colorado Avalanche top Dallas Stars in Game 1
1. Blackwood sharp in playoff debut
It took Blackwood seven seasons to get to the playoffs. But he outplayed Dallas’ Jake Oettinger in his NHL postseason debut and never looked rattled, even when the Stars cut their deficit to one goal early in the third period.
“I was pretty nervous and a little excited,” he told TNT after the game. “I just tried to play the same game I always play.”
Whatever nerves Blackwood might have had dissipated quickly. He was sharp from the get-go – the first shot he saw was a point-blank attempt from Hintz that he stopped. Blackwood excelled during a first-period Dallas power play, and again in the second period before Lehkonen’s goal. He moved quickly but compactly, challenged shooters and got plenty of help from his teammates, who limited Dallas to 24 shots on goal and blocked 15 others.
2. Bounces go Colorado’s way
Luck is a big part of playoff success, and the hockey gods were on the side of the Avalanche in their series opener.
Lehkonen’s goal was as bizarre as any you’ll ever see. Oettinger stopped his close-in shot and the airborne puck caromed back toward Lehkonen as he was being ridden out of the play by Mavrik Bourque. The defender sent Lehkonen flying — and the puck hit his skate as he was knocked into the air and sailed into the net. It was ruled a goal on the ice, a call that was upheld after video review, because the kick wasn’t intentional – it clearly wasn’t, since Lehkonen was airborne and tied up with a defender.
MacKinnon’s power-play goal was more conventionally lucky. His shot from the left circle was partly blocked by Dallas defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, but the change in speed fooled Oettinger and the puck floated past him for a 2-0 lead.
Stars coach Peter DeBoer said his team was also unlucky on the save Blackwood made on Marchment before the goal by Toews.
“The game was a quarter-inch away from being tied in the third period,” he said.
3. Stars slump continues
Dallas finished the regular season 0-5-2 in its last seven games – though most of those were played after the Stars were locked into second place in the Central Division. But there are no excuses in the playoffs, and the Stars were clearly not the best team on this night. They had a hard time coping with the Avalanche on the rush and paid the price.
The loss means the Stars no longer have the home-ice advantage as they prepare for Game 2 on Monday. Not that they’re fazed by playing from behind in the playoffs – this was the eighth consecutive series that they’ve lost Game 1. They’ve won four of the previous seven.
“There’s no confidence issue,” DeBoer said.
But the Stars are also showing the effects of being without their No. 1 defenseman, Miro Heiskanen, who wore a no-contact jersey at the morning skate but didn’t dress as he recovers from surgery on his left knee in late January. Heiskanen averages more than 25 minutes a game, and the Stars aren’t the same team without him. They’ll also be without their top goal-scorer, Jason Robertson, who is out with a lower-body injury sustained in the Stars regular-season finale against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.