The Colorado Avalanche have no chill. Dallas supporters sat quietly in their seats at the American Airlines Center as their team took the ice for the third period of Game Two. Some were probably a little answer with a large lead given what happened two nights earlier. Dallas squared a 3-goal advantage before losing in overtime.
The Stars seemed quite comfortable with a large lead in the final frame of Game Two before the first cracks in the ice started to show. The Avalanche scored once. Then they threw everything at Jake Oettinger and the Stars crease during the rest of he third period. Just like they did in the opening contest of the series, the Avalanche made the Stars sweat it out to as the final minutes drained over the giant overhead scoreboard above the ice.
Would they be able to hold it together for a win this time in front of the home crowd?
Second-Period Surge For Dallas in Game Two
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Holding a 1-0 advantage following a Miro Heiskanen powerplay goal, the Dallas Stars looked like the team that won 52 games during the regular season. With the arena buzzing with the drop of the puck for the second period of Game Two, Dallas’ Roope Hintz kept the party going less than two minutes into the period. Hintz scored only his 2nd goal of the post-season after scoring 30 goals during the season.
Following that score, the bright green jerseys were everywhere Colorado turned leaving no room for the Avalanche to operate. The Stars’ defenders were able to transition the puck away from rushing Colorado players and out of the defensive zone. Oettinger was stopped the few testers that were directed his way.
Dallas tacked on two more special teams goals to take a 4-0 lead heading into the final regulation period. Miro Heiskanen scored his second of the game with the man-advantage, meanwhile Tyler Seguin lit the goal light while short-handed with just under 2 minutes left in the second period.
Life seemed good in Dallas on a late Thursday night in May during the second intermission of Game Two.
Final Frame Response Again by Colorado
Just as they had done in Game One of the series in Dallas, Colorado came out like the Tasmanian Devil from those old Looney Toons shows to start the third period of Game Two. By upping the pressure applied to Dallas, they were able to cause some miscues that allowed Colorado to get back into the game. A little over four minutes into the period, former-Star Joel Kiviranta scored the initial crooked number on the scoreboard under COLORADO at the AAC in Game Two.
A few minutes later, Brandon Duhaime joined the scoring party to cut the lead in half at 4-2 with over half of the period remaining. With time winding down in the game, Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin scored for the seventh straight game in these playoffs and pulled the Avs within one, 4-3. The former Stars forward matched NHL history and joins 2003 NHL Hall-of-Famer Pat LaFontaine in the record books.
Sensing the ability to complete the comeback, the Avalanche stepped it up even more in their attempt to tie Game Two. Dallas took an undisciplined high-sticking penalty with 3 minutes to go. Through the TV screen, you could practically hear the groans of “oh here we go againnnnn” echo throughout the stunned building from the Stars crowd.
Unlike Game One, Dallas stood tall against the waves of Colorado offense over the last three minutes ultimately ending up with a 6-on-4 advantage due to the empty net after Alexander Georgiev was pulled one minute into the man advantage. Esa Lindell hit a full-rink length empty-net goal with 20 seconds left to put a capstone on the scoring, 5-3.
More Fun to Come in Denver
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With the Series tied at one, the scene will shift to Denver, Colorado for Game Three and Game Four. The third game in the best-of-seven battle occurs late on Saturday at 10 pm EST at Ball Arena. The Colorado Avalanche scored victories in their only two home dates in Round One against the Winnipeg Jets. The Avs outscored the Jets 11-3 over those two games to take a sleeper hold on the series.
The Dallas Stars went 2-1 on the road against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Las Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Despite a Game Six shutout by the Golden Knights, Dallas outscored Vegas in the games on the Las Vegas Strip at T-Mobile Arena, 7-to-6.
So far the Dallas’ inability to hold leads at home against Colorado has defined the series. Heading to Denver, the Stars should be up 2-0 after Game Two in this series. That is not the case as he Colorado Avalanche have showcased in both games of this series exactly why they claimed the Stanley Cup just two years ago with their resolve in both games of this series. It’ll be interesting to see how Colorado responds if they net the first goal of Game Three.
One of these teams will ultimately break and have to concede in this epic tug-of-war battle taking place on the frozen surface. My best guess – after Game 4 – this series is still tied heading back to Texas with far more fun in store for hockey fans next week.
About The Author
Christopher Babos is a genuine sports & entertainment journalist with diverse credentials in writing, broadcasting, and digital media. With a varied professional background that includes an M.B.A. in Sports Management from Tiffin University, Chris can speak with authority on the subject matters that he covers. Additional insightful sports articles can be located here.
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