Dallas – The Avalanche du Colorado will try to win a match No 7 for the first time in 23 years, while the stars of Dallas will try to win one for a third consecutive year when their series of first round in the western association will end at the American Airlines Center on Saturday (8 p.m. HE; VAT, SN, ABC, ESPN+).
The avalanche lost six consecutive games no 7, tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa senators for the longest sequence of the genre in the NHL history. They have not won one since 2002, when they defeated the San Jose Sharks in the semi-final of association.
Read also: the stars want to bounce back after losing the sixth game
The winner will go into the second round and face the Winnipeg jets or the Blues of St. Louis, who will play match No. 7 in their first round series on Sunday.
“This is an opportunity for us,” said striker Gabriel Landeskog, who returned to the game in match No. 3 after having missed almost three years of activities due to a knee injury and who cumulates four points (one goal, three assists) in four games. “It’s a big challenge abroad, and we want to take it up. We deserved the right to be here, a victory for the second round. »»
The stars have won their last two games No 7, defeating the Seattle Kraken in the second round in 2023 as well as the Golden Knights of Vegas in the first round last year. They also defeated the avalanche in the second round in 2020. The winning goal had been scored in overtime by striker Joel Kiviranta, who is playing today with Colorado.
“I am happy to have this opportunity,” said stars goalkeeper Jake Oettinger. “We have worked for that all year round, and the road has been long so far. As a player, there is not much that you can ask more than a match no 7 at home against a good team. »»
Here are the items to monitor during match no 7:
Avalanche : Mackinnon collected a pass in four games no 7. Makar obtained no point in three games No 7. Mackinnon is the leader of the series with six goals and he is equal to the second row with 10 points. Makar is equal to the third level among the defenders with five points (one goal, four assists). It will be a first match no 7 for goalkeeper Mackenzie Blackwood. It has a 3-3 file with an average of awarded 2.65 goals, a percentage of stops of, 899 and a laundering in this series.
Stars : The Wyatt Johnston center player scored the winning goal in a 2-1 gain in match no 7 against Seattle in 2023 as well as the first goal in the 2-1 victory in match no 7 against Vegas last year. He totaled four points (two goals, two assists) to his last two games as well as six points (two goals, four aids) in this series. Oettinger has a file of 2-1 with an average of 1.54 and an efficiency rate of, 956 in matches No 7. In this series, he kept a 3-3 file with an average of 2.99 and a percentage of stops of, 909.
-The key figure: 8. This is the number of victories of the stars coach Peter Deboer in matches No 7, tied for the NHL record. He never lost one.
Other elements to monitor : Can the avalanche limit the chances of stars in counterattack? Will stars be able to spend more time in offensive territory?
Planned training of the avalanche
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Jonathan Drouin – Charlie Coyle – Joel Kiviranta
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Ryan Lindgren – Sam Malinski
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Entrenched : Erik Johnson, Keaton Middleton, Jimmy Vesey, Miles Wood
Hurt : Ross Colton (lower body)
Planned training for stars
Mikael Granlund – Roope Hintz – Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Evgenii Dadonov
Oskar Bäck — Sam Steel — Colin Blackwell
Thomas Harley — Ilya Lyubushkin
Esa Lindell — Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel — Alexander Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith
Entrenched : Mavrik Bourque, Mathew Dumba, Brendan Smith
Wounded : Miro Heiskanen (knee), Nils Lundkvist (shoulder), Jason Robertson (lower body)
