The Dallas Stars outlasted the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven on Sunday evening, scoring an early goal in the third period to break the deadlock and win 2-1, meaning they will be the opponent for the Colorado Avalanche when round two starts.
They won’t have much time to rest either, because the series starts in just 48 hours on Tuesday evening. Because the Stars won the Central Division and finished with more points during the regular season, they’ll have home-ice advantage in round two.
The two teams played four times this season, with the Avalanche coming out on top in three of them. Two of them were massive come from behind victories in Dallas, with the Stars only win coming late in the regular season at Ball Arena. As we learned last series against the Winnipeg Jets, the regular season doesn’t matter a whole lot when the playoffs roll around, so you might as well throw that record out the window.
It’s really not a surprise that the Stars pulled out the win against the Golden Knights. They were clearly the better team in my eyes, but Vegas are champions, and pushed them to the edge. Now they’ll face a very different Avalanche squad, who are built on speed and skill.
There were 35 goals between the team teams in the four games this season.
Here is the full schedule for the series, as well as the other Western Conference series between Vancouver and Edmonton.
Colorado Hockey Now will once again be on the road for this series, as I’ll be booking my flights to Dallas tonight. Stay tuned for all the Avalanche coverage you need in the postseason.