DENVER (AP) — After being involved in a play in the first overtime that resulted in a goal being ruled out due to goaltender interference, Matt Duchene scores at 11:42 of the second overtime, giving the Dallas Stars a two-point lead. They advanced to the Western Conference finals. -1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 on Friday night.
Duchesne, a former Avalanche draft pick, secured a spilled puck in front of the net and sent the ball over a sprawled Alexander Georgiev. Duchesne celebrated by landing on the ice and skating on his knees.
Dallas will next face either Edmonton or Vancouver. This will be the second straight trip to the conference finals for the Stars, who lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas last season. The Stars won their only Stanley Cup title in 1999.
Jamie Benn scored the tying goal at 1:56 of the third period. Mason Marchment thought he had scored the winning goal with 7:29 left in his first overtime period, but the goal was canceled due to goaltender interference. The play was reviewed and the on-ice call stood. Duchesne raced with Cale Makar in front of Georgiev, leading to the call. The NHL Situation Room explained that Duchesne impaired Georgiev's ability to play the position in the crease.
Jake Oettinger had a stellar performance all night, making 29 saves. One of his biggest shots was a close-range shot off Artturi Lehkonen from low midway through the second OT.
Road teams won five of six games in the series, with the Stars winning all three games in Denver. The Avalanche were the top home team in the regular season, while the Stars had the best road record.
Dallas joins Florida and the New York Rangers as teams with six shutout second-round series. This is the third time in the postseason (1999 and 2004) that three second-round matchups have been decided in six games.
Colorado had a rocky postseason, with Valeri Nichushkin suspended before Game 4 for violating the rules of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
Colorado scored its first goal of the series early in the second period when Mikko Rantanen hit Oettinger with a wrist shot on the power play.
Cale Makar had assists for 80 total playoff points in 72 games played. He joins Bobby Orr (66 games), Paul Coffey (67 games), Brian Leitch (70 games) and Al MacInnis (71 games) as the first players in NHL history to have 80 postseason career points in fewer than 80 games. He became the fifth defenseman to receive the award.
Both teams were without forwards, with Rope Hintz for Dallas and Yakov Trenin for Colorado.
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