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Round 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs finally hits the ice, starting with an exciting Game 1 between 3rd seed Colorado Avalanche and 2nd seed Dallas Stars at 8:30 PM ET sharp tomorrow. Both teams will want to start the series strong with a win, although it will come down to the best of 7 to determine which team moves on to the next round.
Get ready for some hectic hockey tonight, but not before reviewing our picks for the enticing game and deciding whether they are something you want to forget or follow!
The Avalanche earned their 3rd seed, posting a shaky 2-3 record in their final five games. Beginning on April 5, the Colorado were edged out in a 4-5 loss against the Blues. In the next game, they escaped by the skin of their teeth with a close 3-2 shootout win against the Golden Knights.
Their next game against the Canucks on April 10 would be a disaster, ending in a 4-1 loss, before kicking off a two-game losing streak with a 5-4 defeat against the Kings. However, after their second one-goal deficit loss in their last final games, Colorado would put up a solid 4-2 victory over the Ducks before heading into the postseason.
Their game against Anaheim saw four different goal scorers, including Charlie Coyle, Jack Dury, Wyatt Aamodt and Erik Johnson. Center Nathan MacKinnon finished his regular season in 2nd place on the NHL skating stats leaderboard with an incredible 32 goals and 84 assists, and we fully expect him to set up one or more of his teammates for another assist in this game. Defenseman Cale Makar isn’t too far behind on points either, scoring 30 goals and 62 assists by the end of the 2024-2025 regular season and is one of the few defensive plays with pivotal attacking power.
Colorado’s center Martin Necas is also a key player for the team’s offensive success, scoring 27 goals and recording 56 assists by the end of the regular season, meaning the Avalanche are by no means struggling to tuck pucks away in the opposing net. On the flip side of the ice, goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will look to maintain his impressive 2.55 goals allowed per game to help his team secure the win against the Stars.
The Dallas Stars took the 2nd seed, but they weren’t rewarded by facing Colorado in Game 1 of the playoffs. Despite being higher seeded than the Avalanche, the Stars failed to win a single game in their last five (currently on a seven-game loss streak), kicking off a horrid five-game losing streak with a 6-5 OT loss against the Canucks on April 8.
The next game saw the Winnipeg Jets shut out the Stars 4-0, only for their matchup against Utah to end with another 5-3 defeat on April 12. The bleeding didn’t stop here, as the Red Wings would take a 6-4 win over the Stars on April 14 before Dallas would conclude their promising regular season with a final 5-1 defeat to the Predators on April 16.
Former Avalanche player (this season) Mikko Rantanen, who now plays at right wing for the Stars, finished an impressive regular season with 32 goals and 56 assists to his name while teammate center Matt Duchene comes in close with 30 goals and 52 assists. Along with those two, left wing Jason Robertson is vital for the team’s offense, coming into this postseason with 35 goals and 45 assists, and Center Wyatt Johnston will be another player to watch out for with 33 goals and 38 assists.
While their goalscoring stats appear to be top tier, they’ve struggled to keep pucks out of their net in their last seven games, although both goalies Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have shown only 2.59 goals allowed per game each.
The Avalanche may be slightly lower-seeded than the Stars, but that hardly matters now that we head into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A more prominent problem is Dallas’s seven-game losing streak, which they will look to tame tonight with a possible victory at home stadium American Airline Center.
While we think Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon will likely put up at least 1+ assists in this game, the Stars will come into this game with an absolute fire under their bellies to prevent an embarrassing eight-game losing streak at home. The Star’s offensive firepower is there, so it’s only a matter of time before their scoring domination pays off, so we think they might take the win tonight.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.