In a high-octane thriller that swung wildly until the final horn, the Colorado Avalanche mounted a dramatic third-period comeback to stun the Dallas Stars 7–4 in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series. Facing elimination on home ice, the Avalanche erupted for four unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes, forcing a winner-takes-all Game 7 in Dallas.
The back-and-forth action through the first two periods set the stage for Colorado’s late surge. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, two of the franchise’s foundational stars, each tallied a goal and two assists, while Martin Necas added a goal and an assist of his own.
“We competed to win tonight. That’s what we did. Very similar to Game 4 in our building, both of them must-wins for me, and our team responded,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, according to NHL.com.
“Hopefully we do it one more time. We have belief, and we’re not going to give up on that. We got to go play another game to the best of our ability and give it everything we got against another team that’s going to try and do the exact same thing.” he added, underscoring the emotional and physical stakes ahead of Game 7, a message that encapsulated Bednar’s rallying cry to his team and the fans alike.
MacKinnon’s contribution
Yet the defining moment came in the final minutes, courtesy of a risky face-off decision between MacKinnon and defenseman Josh Manson. “I’m not known for my face-offs, but I’m happy I could win a couple,” MacKinnon admitted, according to NHL.com. “Me and ‘Manse’ kind of talked about it, and we decided if I win it pretty clean, he should just go for it. We’ll risk it. If it goes in, it’s over—and thankfully he just nailed it. So it was awesome.”
“It was fluky, obviously. A freak goal, but I thought we could have had a lot more than that,” he added. “So deserved a bounce.”
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Chaos, drama, and a winner-take-all game ahead
With both sides having traded momentum in thrilling fashion, Game 7 in Dallas looms as a pressure-packed finale to one of the postseason’s most unpredictable first-round series. The Avalanche, energized and battle-tested, will look to complete the job on the road—while the Stars aim to shake off a devastating collapse and respond in kind.