The Colorado Avalanche were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Dallas Stars with a 4-2 loss in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round on Saturday. It was the second time in as many seasons they lost to the Stars after a six-game, second-round loss in 2024.
The Avalanche (49-29-4) made the playoffs as the third-place team in the Central Division. They have qualified for eight straight seasons but have won one series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022.
The skinny
Potential unrestricted free agents: Jonathan Drouin, F; Joel Kiviranta, F; Brock Nelson, F; Jimmy Vesey, F; Erik Johnson, D; Ryan Lindgren, D; Tucker Poolman, D
Potential restricted free agents: Sam Malinski, D
Potential 2025 Draft picks: 2
Here are five reasons the Avalanche were eliminated:
1. Mikko Rantanen
The series came down to Game 7, and the difference-maker was Rantanen, the forward the Avalanche traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal involving the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24, only to have the Hurricanes flip him to the Stars before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.
Colorado led 2-0 in the third period when Rantanen exploded for three goals and an assist, becoming the first player in playoff history with a third-period hat trick in a Game 7.
After Rantanen had one assist in the first four games, he had 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the last three to take the playoff lead with 12 goals (five goals, seven assists). Tied for second? Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (seven goals, four assists) and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (two goals, nine assists) with 11 points each.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Rantanen was “a motivated guy to make an impact in this series, and he just got better and better.”
2. Special teams
Colorado went 3-for-22 on the power play (13.6 percent) and 16-for-23 on the penalty kill (69.6 percent) in the series.
The special teams didn’t come through at key times.
In Games 2 and 3, the Avalanche had a power play late in the third that carried into overtime. In Game 3, after the penalty kill allowed the tying goal to Jamie Benn at 9:18 of the third, the power play had a four-minute man-advantage. Each time, Colorado failed to score and lost in OT — 4-3 in Game 3, 2-1 in Game 4.
In Game 5, the Avalanche pulled within 3-2 on MacKinnon’s goal at 14:38 of the second. Wyatt Johnston scored on the power play 2:10 later that gave the Stars a 4-2 lead en route to a 6-2 win.
In Game 7, they failed to score during a four-minute man-advantage in the first and gave up Johnston’s game-winner on the power play with 3:56 to go in the third.
3. Failure to cash in on opportunities
The Avalanche had 57.3 percent of the 5-on-5 shot attempts in the series. At times, they tilted the ice, but didn’t finish enough.
Among the missed opportunities: At 3:21 of OT in Game 3, one second after a four-minute power play ended, forward Artturi Lehkonen had a shot attempt at an open net that was blocked by Stars defenseman Esa Lindell. Tyler Seguin scored the winner 2:10 later.
Cale Makar had 26 shots on goal, second in the playoffs behind MacKinnon’s 39 and first among defensemen. He had five points (one goal, four assists), tied for third in the playoffs at his position, but that fell short of his extremely high standard.
4. Failure to hold third period leads
Three times, the Avalanche led in the third period and lost.
In Game 2, they led 3-2 before Evgenii Dadonov scored at 10:13 of the third to tie it 3-3. In Game 3, they led 1-0 until Benn scored on the power play at 9:18 of the third to tie it 1-1. Each time, that led to the power-play and OT failures.
In Game 7, they led 2-0 before Rantanen took over and sent them home.
5. Goaltending
Mackenzie Blackwood went 3-4 with a 2.71 goals-against average, .892 save percentage and one shutout. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger was 4-3 with a .285 GAA and .911 save percentage.
Blackwood was brilliant at times in his first playoff series. He stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 5-1 win in Game 1 and made 23 saves in a 4-0 win in Game 4.
In the end, Oettinger was tested more often and won the battle.
Blackwood will want the start of Game 5 back. Nine seconds into the first period, Johnston fired a puck from behind the goal line and banked it in off Blackwood. With 44.7 seconds left in the first, Stars defenseman Thomas Harley fired a puck that hit Blackwood’s blocker, popped high into the air, grazed the crossbar on the way down and dripped off his back into the net.
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