Colin Blackwell scored 17:46 into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 win over the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Monday in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
The best-of-seven Western Conference series is tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Wednesday in Denver.
A healthy scratch in Game 1, Blackwell was inserted into the lineup and delivered the first playoff overtime winner (and just his second playoff goal) of his seven-year NHL career. Blackwell’s initial shot was blocked by teammate Sam Steel, but Blackwell then deposited his own rebound for the goal.
“First game we lost, but come playoffs, (the) most desperate team usually wins every single night,” Blackwell said. “… Our guys showed a lot of heart there, definitely in the third period (after) we gave up a goal late in the second period.”
Steel had two assists for his third career multi-point playoff game.
Evgenii Dadonov, Thomas Harley and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars in regulation. Jake Oettinger stopped 34 of 37 shots, bouncing back after a hard-luck loss in Game 1.
Logan O’Connor had a goal and an assist for Colorado. Jack Drury and Nathan MacKinnon scored the Avalanche’s other goals.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 of 39 shots, making multiple outstanding stops against an aggressive Dallas attack.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said, “We mismanaged the puck a little bit in the third period there, or more than a little bit. We had some turnovers that were forced because of their forecheck and then we had some other ones that weren’t, and I think they all started to add up. You start playing in your half of the rink too much and, you know, bad things are going to happen. …
“A lot of it (the game) was played pretty even. That’s life when you’re playing a team like the Dallas Stars. We have to be better than we were in the third (period).”
Colorado opened the scoring on a power play 8:48 into the first period. MacKinnon found space inside the left circle, then fired a well-placed wrist shot past Oettinger.
With just 54 seconds left in the first period, Seguin scored a power-play marker for the equalizer. It was Seguin’s first goal since Nov. 29, as the forward missed 58 games in the regular season recovering from a hip surgery.
The teams exchanged goals within a 62-second span early in the second period. Harley temporarily gave Dallas its first lead of the series at 3:40, but Drury quickly evened the score at the 4:42 mark.
After Seguin’s last-minute goal in the first period, O’Connor struck even deeper into the second frame with a spectacular goal at the 19:27 mark. While being pulled down by Dallas forward Mason Marchment, O’Connor still had enough strength and leverage to convert a backhanded attempt from the slot.
Dadonov equalized again 10:13 into the third period. Wyatt Johnston’s initial shot was stopped by Blackwood, but Dadonov was in front of the net to jam in the rebound.
“We’re just playing the game the right way,” Blackwell said. “Putting pucks behind their (defense), finishing them every single time we can. And that was the formula, especially going into overtime, knowing that (if) we just keep putting pucks in the right areas, something’s going to bounce our way.”
–Field Level Media
