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Game One Preview: Two-step tango in Texas
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The first round has come and gone for both the Colorado Avalanche and
Dallas Stars. While it was easier for some and tougher for others, the
two best teams in the Central Division and arguably the Western
Conference meet in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Game One is tonight in Dallas with the home team looking to build off
their gauntlet run against the Vegas Golden Knights. Meanwhile, the
Avs will look to be the disturber and spoil it for the home fans in
attendance. Nonetheless, this will be a showdown against two mighty
teams kicking off Tuesday night.
**Colorado Avalanche**
Colorado has had a full week off after winning Game Five against the
Winnipeg Jets 6-3 last Tuesday in Manitoba. Led by Mikko Rantanen's
two goals in the third period, he tied Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar
for points in the first round, all with nine.
Valeri Nichushkin will also face his former team once again in the
postseason, tied as the joint-top scorer in the playoffs with seven
goals. His impact was missed dearly last season against the Seattle
Kraken, and it showed in the first round this season. He will need to
be up to the same caliber in the second round.
Avs-killer Joel Kiviranta was a member of the Stars the last time
these two faced off in the postseason and will be looking to serve
revenge against his former team. He will have to wait though, as he
was still skating with a non-contact jersey at morning skate. Chris
Wagner left morning skate early, meaning he will likely slot in his
place with Nikolai Kovalenko coming out as well. Can the Avs continue
their excellent run of form and start the series off on a strong foot?
_**Projected Lines**_
Valeri Nichushkin (13) - Nathan MacKinnon (29) - Mikko Rantanen (96)
Artturi Lehkonen (62) - Casey Mittelstadt (37) - Zach Parise (9)
Miles Wood (28) - Ross Colton (20) - Brandon Duhaime (12)
Andrew Cogliano (11) - Chris Wagner (14) - Yakov Trenin (73)
Devon Toews (7) - Cale Makar (8)
Sam Girard (49) - Josh Manson (42)
Jack Johnson (3) - Sean Walker (26)
**Dallas Stars**
Dallas has been playing consistently as of late, going all seven games
against the Vegas Golden Knights. They just managed to eke ahead of
the defending Stanley Cup Champions with a 2-1 win on Sunday night to
set this matchup against the Avs.
Having been playing consistently and not getting any breaks, this
perhaps helps the Stars. Colorado is not the best when they have long
stretches of time off, and Dallas can take advantage of that. Plus, we
still have not seen the best of the best from them so far this
postseason.
While Wyatt Johnston has been on a tear and someone fans should watch,
the likes of Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, and Matt Duchene have still not
reached their potential in the playoffs. All three seem to love
playing against the Avs, and will they bring a scoring touch to help
the home team start with a series lead?
_**Projected Lines**_
Jason Robertson (21) - Roope Hintz (24) - Logan Stankoven (11)
Jamie Benn (14) - Wyatt Johnston (53) - Joe Pavelski (16)
Evgenii Dadonov (63) - Matt Duchene (95) - Tyler Seguin (91)
Radek Faksa (12) - Sam Steel (18) - Craig Smith (15)
Thomas Harley (55) - Miro Hiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) - Chris Tanev (3)
Ryan Suter (20) - Nils Lundkvist (5)
**Goaltenders**
No surprises here, as we'll see each team's top goaltender: Alexandar
Georgiev for Colorado, and Jake Oettinger for Dallas.
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