DENVER — The Dallas Stars punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals on Friday night, putting away the Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 double overtime victory in Game 6 at Ball Arena.
After falling behind on a power-play goal in the second period, Stars captain Jamie Benn tied it in the third, and Matt duch*ene scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime.
Mason Marchment appeared to score a goal for the Stars in the first overtime period, but it was taken off the board for goaltender interference.
The Stars were a perfect 3-0 on the road this series to win 4-2.
Here are five thoughts from Dallas’ Game 6 victory:
—Stars becoming Western Conference Finals regulars
The Dallas Stars are in the Western Conference Finals for the third time in five years, the best stretch since the late 1990s when Dallas won the Stanley Cup in 1999 and made the conference finals in three consecutive years.
After seeing their season end in the conference finals last year, Dallas will have a chance at redemption and is just four wins away from reaching the final round for the first time since the NHL bubble in 2020.
The Stars will face either the Edmonton Oilers or Vancouver Canucks in the next round but will host the first two games. Vancouver leads that series 3-2 and the teams play Game 6 Saturday night.
The Stars are 3-3 all-time in conference finals series.
—duch*ene saves day after OT goal disallowed
The Stars almost walked away with a win late in the first overtime period as Marchment appeared to score the game-winner.
The goal was immediately waived off, however, as the referees said duch*ene interfered with Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.
The call stood, and it sparked a debate across the league about what constitutes goaltender interference.
There was contact between duch*ene and Georgiev, but it appeared to take place outside of the crease and was because of Cale Makar pushing Duschene.
Regardless, the Stars were able to score at the 11:42 mark of the second overtime period thanks to duch*ene, who scored the game-winner.
The Stars are now 2-1 in overtime this postseason.
—Defensive battle
In a series featuring two of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL, the scores through the first five games have reflected their strengths.
An average of 6.8 goals were scored per game before Game 6, but both teams brought a different game to the ice Friday night.
The Stars and Avalanche each played lockdown defensive games, aided by standout goaltending. There were only 25 total shots in the first two periods.
For the first time all series, neither team scored in the first period. Colorado had a 9-5 shot advantage in the first frame, but Dallas’ defense held strong for the most part.
Only a single goal was scored by the end of the second period, with only one more added in the third.
Both teams were aggressive in shot-blocking as the Stars held a 24 to 23 advantage in that category through regulation time.
—Strong performances from both goalies
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger has been outstanding after a loss in his playoff career, and he was on his game from the start Friday night.
Oettinger made nine first-period saves, including two big ones in transition involving Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon late in the first period. He ended regulation time with 20 total saves.
Oettinger did not allow an even-strength goal, allowing just one score all night from a sharp angle on the man-advantage.
However, Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev was solid as well. He made 22 saves in regulation. The only goal he allowed was on a flawless pass from Evgenii Dadonov to Jamie Benn. who got Georgiev 1-on-1.
Goaltending hasn’t been the story of this series as it was for the Stars in the Vegas series, but both goalies showed up in a critical Game 6.
—Stars lose special teams battle again
The team that has won the special teams battle has won each game this series, and Dallas fell behind in that key area again Friday.
duch*ene was called for cross-checking in the second period, which allowed Mikko Rantanen to score from a tight angle to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
After holding Colorado to 0-for-8 on the power play in Games 2 through 4, the Avalanche are 3-for-4 in the last two games.
Logan Stankoven was interfered with later in the period, and the Stars had a power-play chance of their own to tie it but couldn’t. Dallas is 1-for-5 on the power play in the last two games.
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