Dallas forward Rantanen faces former team in rematch from last season; new-look Colorado could get Landeskog back
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The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features 16 teams in eight best-of-7 series, which start Saturday. Today, NHL.com previews the Western Conference First Round between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche.
Stars: 50-25-6, 106 points
Avalanche: 49-29-4, 102 points
Season series: DAL: 1-1-1; COL: 2-1-0
Game 1: Saturday at Dallas (8:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN360, SN, TVAS)
This series won’t look like it did last season, when the Stars defeated the Avalanche in six games in the Western Conference Second Round.
Mikko Rantanen plays for Dallas, not Colorado. The Avalanche traded the pending unrestricted free agent to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal also involving the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24. The Hurricanes traded him to the Stars on March 7, and he signed an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million average annual value).
“It’s going to be different, for sure, than I’m used to playing in the playoffs,” said the forward, who entered the NHL with the Avalanche in 2015-16 and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2022. “I played for the same team always, but now it’s different — and I’m playing against them, which is funny.”
It goes beyond that, though.
The Avalanche have made many additions, including goalies Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood; defensemen Erik Johnson and Ryan Lindgren; and forwards Charlie Coyle, Jack Drury, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog could return after missing three seasons with a knee injury. He played two games with Colorado of the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint last week, the forward’s first action since June 26, 2022, when the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final and won the Cup.
“It’s exciting for us, because it may give us another option here,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “To have another player of his caliber possibly being ready to go is only a positive from my mind.”
Will Colorado fare better against Dallas with less star power but more depth? Will Dallas have forward Jason Robertson and defenseman Miro Heiskanen?
Forward Tyler Seguin, who had five points (three goals, two assists) against the Avalanche last year, returned to the Dallas lineup Tuesday after missing 58 games with a hip injury. But Robertson left that game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Heiskanen, who led the Stars with eight points (four goals, four assists) and 172:16 of ice time against the Avalanche last year, has missed 32 games with a lower-body injury. Dallas hopes to have Heiskanen back sometime in the first round. Robertson’s status is unclear.
“We met in the second round last year,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “People said that could have been a third- or a fourth-round matchup. I think we’re both better teams than we were a year ago, and we’re meeting in the first round. But that’s the NHL playoffs.”
Stars: Rantanen averages 1.25 points per game in the playoffs, tied with Mark Messier for sixth in NHL history among those who have played at least 74 games. In his career with Colorado, he had 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 14 playoff games against Dallas. Since joining Dallas, he has 18 points (five goals, 13 points) in 19 regular-season games. Matt Duchene, who entered the NHL with Colorado in 2009-10 and was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 5, 2017, eliminated the Avalanche with a goal in double overtime in Game 6 last year and led Dallas with 81 points (30 goals, 51 assists) in 81 games this season.
VAN@DAL: Rantanen snaps in a PPG for opening goal
Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon averages 1.30 points per game in the playoffs, fifth in NHL history among those who have played at least 74 games. He had 116 points (32 goals, 84 assists) in 79 games this season, second in the NHL to Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who entered Thursday with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists) in 77 games. Cale Makar averages 1.11 points per game in the playoffs, second in NHL history behind Bobby Orr (1.24) among defensemen. He led NHL defensemen with 92 points (30 goals, 62 assists) in 80 games this season.
Stars: Jake Oettinger is 23-22 with a 2.46 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and two shutouts in the playoffs in his NHL career, including 4-2 with a 2.24 GAA and .911 save percentage against the Avalanche last year. This season, he ranked third in the NHL with 36 wins while putting up a 2.53 GAA, .911 save percentage and two shutouts in 58 games.
Avalanche: Blackwood never has played in the playoffs, but the 28-year-old has 252 games of NHL experience. After the Avalanche acquired him in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9, he had 22 wins, tied with Oettinger for fourth in the NHL during that span. He also ranked eighth with a .913 save percentage; Oettinger was seventh at .910. Among goalies who played at least 20 games during that span, he was fifth with a 2.33 GAA. Oettinger was 14th at 2.58.
Stars: You have to go to the hard areas to score in the playoffs, right? Well, the Stars ranked third in high-danger shots with 671 during the regular season, according to NHL EDGE stats, behind the Edmonton Oilers (697) and the Lightning (673).
Avalanche: Necas, whom the Avalanche acquired from the Hurricanes in the Rantanen trade, had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 30 games for Colorado. He had 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 79 total games this season, not far off from Rantanen, who had 88 points (32 goals, 56 assists) in 81 total games. Necas has 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 59 games in the playoffs during his NHL career. Bednar said he could be an X-factor in the series.
“I’d say they’re deeper, but they play the same way. They’ve added some speed and goaltending too, but we shouldn’t be surprised by the game plan. They’re going to be the same fast, skilled, play-hard team. I mean, we were prepared last year for it, and we have to be prepared this year. We’re excited for the challenge again.” — Stars forward Jason Robertson on the Avalanche
“They’re just a simple, simple hockey team with not many mistakes. They can play the, if you want to call it, the boring game a little bit. They’re good at it. They’ll chip it out. They’ll make sure they’re above the pucks, and they have good goaltending as well, so it’s just one of those teams that makes you earn every goal. They don’t really give you any goals.” — Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin on the Stars
Stars: Rantanen plays against his former team like he did for it, and the Stars continue to have the edge in depth. Dallas plays well structurally to limit Colorado’s speed and skill, staying out of the penalty box to limit Colorado’s power-play chances. It will help if Heiskanen comes back during the series and looks like himself, taking on difficult matchups and playing big minutes.
Avalanche: MacKinnon and Makar continue to shine, and the Avalanche’s improved depth matches up better against the Stars’ depth. Colorado uses its speed to defeat Dallas’ structure. Blackwood evens out the goaltending matchup against Oettinger — or gives the Avalanche an advantage. It will help if Landeskog comes back and gives his teammates an emotional boost. If he can be effective after missing three seasons, that will be an even bigger bonus.
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Mikael Granlund
Evgenii Dadonov — Sam Steel – Mavrik Bourque
Thomas Harley — Ilya Lyubushkin
Esa Lindell — Cody Cedi
Brendan Smith — Mathew Dumba
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Oskar Back, Colin Blackwell
Injured: Nils Lundkvist (shoulder), Miro Heiskanen (lower body)
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta — Charlie Coyle — Ross Colton
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Samuel Girard
Erik Johnson — Sam Malinski
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Keaton Middleton, Jimmy Vesey, Miles Wood
Injured: Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Ryan Lindgren (upper body), Tucker Poolman (head)

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