A lot of thoughts are running through my very tired head after the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Dallas Stars in overtime.
Dallas already has and has young players on cheap contracts that will make a big difference for them. Colorado really doesn't. I felt that Alexander Georgiev was good in this series, but Jake Oettinger was much better. Dallas' depth and ability to roll the fourth line kept them a little fresh, especially in Game 6, and that made a big difference.
After all, the Colorado Avalanche had a very good team. They have stars, supplement those stars with some talent throughout the lineup, and their goaltending has not been an issue in this series.
Dallas is much better and it's okay to say that.
There's a reason the Avalanche wanted to trade Chris Tanev before the trade deadline, and this series made it clear. He played alongside Nathan MacKinnon for six games, giving him no room to play. And top-10 defenseman Miro Heiskanen and young Thomas Hurley were also there when Tanev couldn't slow him down.
The biggest difference between this series may be on the front. In Game 6, which went to double overtime, four Avalanche forwards played more ice time than the Stars' forward leader. In a game that lasted more than 90 minutes, Colorado's fourth line received less than 10 minutes of ice time. At the Stars' front totem pole was Radek Faksa, who played just 15 minutes. That depth became important as the game went into overtime. Dallas looked like they had an extra gear, while the Avalanche looked tired.
And that's one of the big reasons Colorado's season ended.
The loss of Valeri Nichushkin is certainly a big deal for the Avalanche and cannot be overlooked, but the Stars also lost center Roop Hintz, who scored 30 goals this season and plays against other teams' top forwards. Although they are different players, their on-ice impact is not that different, especially if Hintz plays in a position where he is considered more valuable. Dallas had a player who could move to center and help, but Colorado had to rely on the 39-year-old to fill out the top six.
Colorado's big advantage (star players) didn't turn out to be much of an advantage in the end. MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar were all limited by Dallas, and the Avalanche didn't have enough to overcome that. Full credit to Pete DeBoer for putting together a game plan that stymies the best players in the world.
We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that this Avalanche team was actually very good. They are a very talented team and in my opinion would have found a way to break through either team still playing from the Pacific.
They won't get that opportunity because the Stars are better.
