Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 26: Makar’s two-goal game lets Avs live another day with 5-3 win

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar
Credit: © Jerome Miron

It was Game 5 for the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night, and this was the first of three opportunities for the Stars to eliminate the Avs and move on to the Western Conference Finals, although they’d have to do it without Roope Hintz in the lineup.

The Stars had a big scare early in the game, as defenseman Chris Tanev took a shoulder from Nathan MacKinnon to the face in his first shift of the game. Considering that he also took a big hit from Ross Colton in Game 4, he seemed shaken up and had to go to the dressing room, but he returned to the game shortly after.

Then Dallas did what they’ve done in every game so far this series, and that’s score the first goal of the game. Matt Duchene made a quick pass to the slot, and Joe Pavelski was on the doorstep like always to bury his first goal of the postseason and make it 1-0 midway through the first period.

But Colorado responded just before the end of the first period, and I mean just before. With the clock winding down, MacKinnon dished the puck to Artturi Lehkonen, who was wide open in the slot, and he beat both Jake Oettinger and the clock to tie the game with less than a second left.

The story was quite similar in the second period for both teams. First, the Stars took the lead again midway through the frame thanks to a great stretch pass from Pavelski to set up a 2-on-0, and then a nifty set-up from Jason Robertson allowed Miro Heiskanen to bury it.

And then the Avs responded again late in the second to tie the game. Like last time, it was on the power play, but this time, it was courtesy of a snipe from Cale Makar.

However, the Avalanche needed to take the lead if they wanted to win this game, especially since it was something they haven’t done all series, and they finally did so in the third. First, one of the weirdest goals of the playoffs occurred, as a Samuel Girard shot was blocked and bounced towards Zach Parise at the side of the net. Parise tried to hit it out of the air and in the net, but instead found the puck travelling parallel to the goal. Thankfully, Casey Mittelstadt was on the other side to collect the puck and bank it off of Oettinger and in. Now, the Avs had their first lead of the game, and their first lead of the series.

And Makar wasn’t done either. After some more pressure from Colorado, Makar jumped up again and shot it five hole and in to give the Avs the 4-2 lead.

However, Dallas wasn’t going to let the game get out of hand. Only 76 seconds after Makar’s second goal, Logan Stankoven deflected a point shot from Esa Lindell, and already the lead was cut in half.

But that would be all that would come out of a Stars comeback, as MacKinnon iced the game with a snipe of his own, and the Avs took the game by a score of 5-3.

With the win, Colorado keeps their season alive and goes back home only down 3-2 in the series. Three of the Avs’ key players showed up with Makar, Lehkonen and MacKinnon all getting two points, while Pavelski and Robertson had two points for the Stars in the loss.

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