DALLAS (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period before adding an empty-netter late as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Saturday night.
MacKinnon scored on a shot that deflected off Stars' defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin, and knuckled past goalie Jake Oettinger late in the second period. That came during an extended power play, a double minor against the Stars after he took a high stick to the face.
That came after MacKinnon’s assist midway through the second period on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen, who was following his initial shot and falling down after a collision in front of the net when the puck ricocheted off his lower left leg into the top corner of the net. The play was reviewed and officials ruled that there was no kicking motion by Lehkonen while tumbling to the ice with Mavrik Bourque.
There wasn’t much Oettinger could do on either of those goals as the Stars lost Game 1 in their eighth consecutive series in the NHL playoffs since 2022. They are 0-7 in series openers under coach Pete DeBoer, six of those coming at home.
Devon Toews gave Colorado a 3-1 lead with 7:04 left. MacKinnon’s empty-net tally for his 50th career playoff goal came with 3:08 left, 11 seconds before Charlie Coyle scored.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Saturday:
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JETS 5 BLUES 3
WINNIPEG, Man. (AP) — Kyle Connor’s one-timer with 1:36 remaining in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and lifted Winnipeg to a 5-3 victory in Saturday’s opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs against St. Louis.
Connor also contributed a pair of assists and captain Adam Lowry capped the victory with an empty-netter with 53 seconds left.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday at Canada Life Centre, which featured a loud “whiteout” full house of 15,225 fans.
Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists and Jaret Anderson-Dolan also scored for the Jets.
Connor Hellebuyck made 14 saves for Winnipeg, which won the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular-season record (56-22-4).
Jordan Kyrou gave the Blues a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal early in the second period, but Winnipeg’s top-line winger Alex Iafallo tied it at 9:18 of the third.
Robert Thomas also scored on the power play for St. Louis. Oskar Sundqvist added one at even strength and Justin Faulk had two assists.
Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots for St. Louis, which grabbed the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot with a final-game victory.
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The Associated Press
