In a pivotal battle for control of the series, the Dallas Stars delivered a commanding performance, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round matchup. With the victory, Dallas seized a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series, placing the Avalanche on the brink of elimination ahead of Thursday’s Game 6 in Denver.
Colorado’s offense showed brief flashes of resistance, led by Nathan MacKinnon, who registered a goal and an assist, and Martin Necas, who contributed two assists. However, goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood endured a tough outing, conceding five goals on only 18 shots. He was pulled early in the third period and replaced by Scott Wedgewood, who stopped all eight shots he faced — though the outcome was largely decided by that point.
The Avalanche briefly narrowed the deficit in the second period, with goals from Artturi Lehkonen and MacKinnon cutting Dallas’ lead to 3-2. But the Stars responded emphatically — Wyatt Johnston netted his second goal of the night to re-establish a two-goal cushion, and Mason Marchment added another to make it 5-2.
Landeskog’s admission
Following the defeat, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog didn’t shy away from critiquing his team’s execution and lack of urgency. “We knew they were going to come out with their best effort, no doubt. I didn’t think we had the best execution to start the game, and even throughout the game, to be honest,” Landeskog said, according to NHL.com.
He added: “There were some plays where we made almost uncharacteristic mistakes here and there, but stuff’s going to happen. … So, we’re going to clean that up here come Thursday.”
Avalanche effort falls short
While Colorado showed some fight, it wasn’t enough to overcome Dallas’ early dominance. Postgame, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar underlined the importance of collective consistency in the postseason. “You can’t have guys having bad nights this time of the year,” Bednar said.
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“You’ve heard me say it all along, it’s going to come down to playing good teams that finish in similar spots in the standings, so you’ve got to go play your best hockey for two weeks in order to win, right? If you’ve got good players having bad nights, it’s not your best hockey. (When) you’re firing on all cylinders, like Game 3 and Game 4, things start to look a lot better.” Bernard added.