Tyler Seguin scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period and iced it with one into an empty net as the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Denver on Saturday night.
Logan Stankoven also had two goals and Jake Oettinger made 28 saves for Dallas, which leads the best-of-7 series 2-1 and regained home ice from Colorado. The Avalanche’s only lead in the series was Miles Wood’s overtime goal in Game 1.
The Stars can put Colorado on the brink of elimination with a win in Game 4 in Denver on Monday night.
The game Saturday was tied 1-1 when Dallas broke out on an odd-man rush. Evgenii Dadonov stickhandled into the left circle and sent a pass to Seguin on the other side of the net, and he redirected it by Alexandar Georgiev at 15:13.
Georgiev came off for an extra skater with 1:50 left and Seguin scored his third of the playoffs at 18:23. Stankoven scored another empty-netter, his second goal of the night, at 19:32.
Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche and Georgiev turned away 19 shots.
Colorado winger Valeri Nichushkin failed to score a goal for the first time in eight playoff games. His seven-game goal streak to start the postseason is tied for the longest in NHL history with Pat LaFontaine, who did it with Buffalo in 1992.
Colorado carried the play for much of the first period but a late turnover led to the game’s first goal. Georgiev made an initial save on Dallas’ rush but Devon Toews lost the puck to Miro Heiskanen, who fed Stankoven in the slot. Stankoven’s wrister beat Georgiev inside the left post at 18:39.
The Avalanche tied it midway through the second period when Nathan MacKinnon maneuvered through three Dallas players and lifted a backhander that Oettinger stopped. The rebound went behind the goaltender in the crease and Rantanen knocked it in to tie it at 10:24.
It was his third goal of the playoffs and gives him 99 career postseason points in 78 games.
–Field Level Media
