Avs collapse in Game 7 as Stars advance to Round 2
By: River Wilcox
The Dallas Stars stunned the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-2 comeback win Saturday, eliminating Colorado from this year’s playoffs after a dramatic seven-game series.
The first-round exit will haunt the Avalanche for years to come. The Avs controlled the scoreboard for the majority of the series, but allowed three comeback wins for the Stars. Two of those games ended in overtime, and the third eliminated Colorado from the playoffs. In Game 7, the Avs failed to hold on to a two-goal lead, and a series of defensive breakdowns allowed Dallas to score four unanswered. Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick against his former team and became the first player to do so in the third period of a Game 7.
Game 1: COL 5, DAL 1
Colorado triumphed over Dallas, winning 5-1 with goals from Arturri Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Charlie Coyle and two from Nathan MacKinnon. Roope Hintz scored the Stars’ only goal. Mackenzie Blackwood showed up for his first career playoff performance, stopping 23 out of 24 shots and making key saves to keep the Avs on top.
Game 2: DAL 4, COL 3 (OT)
The Avalanche struck first with a goal from MacKinnon, but the Stars’ Tyler Seguin would respond. Thomas Harley would make it 2-1 for the Stars early in the second, but the Avs’ Jack Drury and Logan O’Connor each fired back to give their team a one-goal lead. Evgenii Dadonov would tie the game in the third period, and Colin Blackwell would clinch the game for the Stars in overtime. Blackwood made 35 saves.
Game 3: DAL 2, COL 1 (OT)
Gabriel Landeskog returned to the NHL on home ice after three years of injury recovery. If Landeskog felt at all rusty, he didn’t show it— just 26 seconds into the game, he laid an open-ice hit on former teammate Mikko Rantanen. However, his return may have been more of a distraction than a motivator for his team. Valeri Nichushkin scored an early goal for the Avs, but Jamie Benn would tie the game in the third period, and Tyler Seguin would take the game in overtime.
Game 4: COL 4, DAL 0
Colorado shut out the Stars with a dominating performance and tied the series 2-2. O’Connor scored shorthanded in the first period, followed by a power play goal from MacKinnon. In the second period, Landeskog scored his first goal in over 1000 days. Samuel Girard scored in the third period to make it 4-0, and Blackwood finished the game with his first shutout in the playoffs.
Game 5: DAL 6, COL 2
The Avalanche fought an uphill battle from the first puck drop. The Stars’ Wyatt Johnston would score nine seconds into the game from below the goal line, barely sneaking the puck past Blackwood near-side. Thomas Harley scored late in the period, and Mikko Rantanen made it 3-0 early in the second. Colorado felt a glimmer of hope after Lehkonen and MacKinnon scored twice in two minutes, but 34 penalty minutes destroyed any momentum the team could build. Johnston scored his second of the game on a power play, and Mason Marchment would make it 5-2 for the Stars shortly after. Roope Hintz sealed the deal with an empty net goal, taking Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead.
Game 6: COL 7, DAL 4
Facing elimination, the Avalanche score a touchdown and force Game 7. The Avs dominated Dallas with goals from Lehkonen, MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Josh Manson, Cale Makar and two from Nichushkin. A series of breakdowns in the second period would give the Stars four goals in the second period, but the Avs proved with 48 shots on goal that they have the skills needed to outscore their defensive lapses.
Game 7: DAL 4, COL 2
This series was always meant to go to Game 7. There’s no other way it could end, and for Avalanche fans, the final blow felt inevitable. Manson scored a shorthanded goal in the second period, and MacKinnon scored early in the third. But their confidence wavered as the clock wound down, especially after Mikko Rantanen put the Stars on the scoreboard. That was the moment the Avs broke down. Rantanen would tie the game on a power play, and Johnston would follow with another power play goal to put the Stars on top. Rantanen scored on an empty net to complete his hat trick and send the Avs packing for their summer vacations.
This loss hits hard for the team. Mikko Rantanen’s trade from Colorado in January shocked Rantanen and Colorado fans alike, but the narrative writes itself: Mikko got his revenge in Game 7, and will advance to the second round while his former team is eliminated. Much like last year’s exit in the second round after a double-overtime goal from Matt Duchene, it seems that former Avs players are eager to deal the final blow.
It’s a crime for this matchup to have taken place in only the first round. This caliber of competition is worthy of the Western Conference Final, and either team would have advanced from the first round as Cup favorites. But Dallas has one intangible element that Colorado seems to struggle with— mental fortitude. The Avs have confidence. They know that at their best, very few teams in the NHL can keep up. Dallas is a team that knows how to grind out a win when the stakes are high. Dallas coach Pete DeBoer now has a 9-0 record in Game 7’s, while Jared Bednar has never won one. The Avalanche have not won a Game 7 since 2001, when they defeated the New Jersey Devils to win the Stanley Cup.
The Avs’ struggle to find success in big moments is exemplified by their power play. Their power play percentage was 24.8% in the 2024-25 regular season, but that number dropped to 13.6% in the playoffs. In comparison, the Stars’ power play was 30.4% in this series. Avalanche special teams coach Ray Bennett has been in the hot seat with fans this season, but coaching isn’t everything. When the stakes are highest, the Avs lose the mental battle.
After the risky decision to go all-in at the trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche will now focus on building next season’s roster. On July 1, Brock Nelson, Jonathan Drouin, Jimmy Vesey, Joel Kiviranta, Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson will all become free agents. If Nelson’s time with the Avalanche is over, the team will resume the search for a second-line center. With Gabriel Landeskog off LTIR, the Avs’ management will need to make some tough decisions to offload nearly $7 million of cap space. But with Landeskog’s return to the ice and core players locked down long-term, the Avalanche will continue to be a threat come October.
The Dallas Stars will advance to the second round and play the Winnipeg Jets, who defeated the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 Sunday evening.