The Dallas Stars defeated the Las Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 on Sunday night, scoring early in the third period to break the deadlock and win 2-1. That means they will be facing the Colorado Avalanche at the start of the second round.
They don't have much time to rest either, as the series begins Tuesday evening in just 48 hours. The Stars won the Central Division and finished the regular season with more points, so they will have home ice advantage in the second round.
The teams have met four times this season, with the Avalanche winning three of them. Two of those games were come-from-behind wins in Dallas, and the Stars' only win came late in the regular season at Ball Arena. As we learned in the last series against the Winnipeg Jets, the regular season doesn't really matter once the playoffs start, so you might as well throw that record out the window.
It's no surprise that the Stars won against the Golden Knights. They were clearly the better team in my eyes, but Las Vegas was the champion and chased them down. They will now face a completely different Avalanche team built on speed and skill.
In four games this season, both teams have scored 35 goals.
The complete schedule for the series, as well as other Western Conference series between Vancouver and Edmonton, is below:
Colorado Hockey Now is back in the series as I plan to book my flight to Dallas tonight. Stay tuned for all the Avalanche coverage you need in the postseason.
