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Joe Pavelski and the Dallas Stars had the chance to move to the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night. But unfortunately, they could not pick up a win on home ice. Cale Makar scored two goals for the Colorado Avalanche to help them to a 5-3 victory. This Stanley Cup Playoffs series goes back to Colorado on Friday night for Game 6.
The Stars have struggled at home during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, the team’s home record this postseason dropped below .500 with Wednesday’s loss. They have performed better on the road, but they had a big opportunity to advance on Wednesday. It was a chance Dallas felt they needed to take advantage of. Unfortunately, they let that opportunity pass them by.
“We like playing here,” Pavelski said about playing at home, via the Dallas Morning News. “On the flip side, we’ve been really good on the road, so there are certain things from the road we could probably bring home and do a little bit better job at, but yeah, we have to win. Got to take care of our opportunities here when we get them like this. A missed opportunity for us tonight.”
Stars can’t contain Cale Makar, Avalanche
The Stars opened the scoring in Game 5. Joe Pavelski scored his first goal of the postseason, ending a 12-game drought. And they held the lead for most of the first period, as well. But the Avalanche gained some momentum when Artturi Lehkonen tied the game with 0.6 seconds remaining.
Dallas regained the lead in the second period thanks to star defenseman Miro Heiskanen. But once again, Colorado found a way back in it. Cale Makar scored a power play goal to bring the Avalanche level once again. In the third period, they took the game over for good.
Casey Mittelstadt scored a little over a minute into the final frame. Then, Makar scored his second goal of the game to make it a two-goal lead. Dallas found another goal soon after, but it was too little too late. Nathan MacKinnon found the back of the net to make it 5-3 and secure the win.
Squandered opportunities in Game 5
The Stars had chances to get back into the game in the third period. They received two power-play chances during the final frame of Game 5. But they failed to capitalize on those opportunities. As a result, they continue their series against the Avalanche. And that gives Colorado a chance to mount a full-scale comeback.
“We have to cash in on those. Those are big moments throughout the playoffs that lead to wins if you can make it count. There are certain areas of the game where we could’ve just been better,” Joe Pavelski said, via the Dallas Morning News.
Dallas will regroup before Game 6 on Friday. This is certainly a painful loss and a major opportunity missed. But the Stars still control the series. They need just one more win to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Colorado’s margin for error is much lower than it is for Dallas.
Friday night’s contest is certainly a must-see hockey game for any neutral hockey fan. The Stars and Avalanche hit the ice once again at 10 PM Eastern Time in two days. Let’s see if Dallas can punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row.
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