Nichushkin scores with 15 seconds left, Necas has 4 points for Colorado, which has won 4 straight
Avalanche at Stars | Recap
DALLAS — Valeri Nichushkin tied the game with 15 seconds left in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche ended the Dallas Stars’ franchise-record 10-game winning streak with a 5-4 shootout win at American Airlines Center on Friday.
Nichushkin tied it 4-4 with a shot from the right face-off dot off a backhand feed from Martin Necas with goalie Scott Wedgewood pulled for an extra attacker.
“They were only [six points] back, now [seven], so it was huge for us,” Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon said of the Central Division race. “We are looking to win the West and our division and have some home ice perhaps throughout the whole playoffs. Hopefully we get to the Final. It was nice to beat their 10-game win streak and end that, but they are an awesome team. We were missing guys and they were missing guys, but it was a really competitive game.”
Necas and Nichushkin scored in the shootout, and Wedgewood stopped Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene to give Colorado the win in a matchup of the top two teams in the NHL standings.
“That’s a fast-paced game right from the get-go. Maybe the first few minutes both teams were feeling each other out, but then it was off and running,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “High-paced, physical. Special teams, that’s important, especially this time of year. We know how important it is to go down into the playoffs. It’s hard to create scoring chances 5-on-5, so when you get the man-advantage, you’ve got to take advantage of it. Both teams did that tonight. I thought our penalty kill stepped up huge in the third period. Hard-fought game.”
COL@DAL: Nichushkin, Necas and Wedgewood lift Avalanche past Stars in shootout
Necas had a goal and three assists, MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, and Cale Makar had a goal and an assist for Colorado (42-10-9), which has won four in a row and five of six. Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four goals on 11 shots before being pulled 1:52 into the second period. Wedgewood made 10 saves in relief.
“It’s nauseating. It always is,” Wedgewood said. “I’ve done it a lot of times over the course of being a backup. You kind of rely on that experience. The game is going to keep on coming. You don’t have to solve it right now. I made a couple of saves early. I think that settled me in.
“The first five minutes you’ve always got that knee shake. People that have done it can attest to it. Settled in, gave the guys a chance. With the firepower we have, that’s a fun hockey game for any fan with the skill that’s out there. For us to come back and win that, that’s obviously huge for our group.”
Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskanen and Justin Hryckowian each had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas (38-14-10). Jake Oettinger made 25 saves.
“I thought it was a heavyweight battle. They’ve got great players over there and we’ve got great players on our bench,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They’re obviously the top team in the League, and I thought we were right there with them, toe-to-toe. It was a great hockey game. I did learn a lot about our group here. We battled, we were resilient, we just didn’t get the outcome we wanted. But a lot of growth from October to now.”
COL@DAL: Nichushkin evens the game with 15 seconds left
Hryckowian had a chance to end the game in regulation with an empty-net goal. He made a pass to Benn, who missed the net.
“I’ve got to rewatch it. I wasn’t really thinking too much. I just picked my head up, saw that it was kind of like a rush and swung it over. Probably wasn’t the right play. Put him in a tough spot,” Hryckowian said. “That’s the team to beat right now. It’s good to get a little taste and see how you measure up against them.”
Makar gave Colorado a 1-0 lead while on a power play at 3:33 of the first period, scoring with a snap shot from the inside of the right face-off circle that picked the top corner stick side.
“I thought both teams played hard and from our side of it, I think we made too many mistakes early in that game that gave up quality and dangerous scoring chances, so they capitalized on some of them,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “But I thought we cleaned that up as the game went on a little bit and got a little more dangerous offensively as the game went on, but overall, I think power play gets two, an empty-net situation gets one, penalty kill kills huge penalties in the third, 5-on-3, and that’s likely the difference in the long game.”
Heiskanen tied it 1-1 at 7:11 of the first when his point shot deflected off an Avalanche stick in the slot on the power play.
“Tight game, could have gone either way. Both teams had good chances. It’s small margins,” Heiskanen said. “We lost one point. A little disappointing for sure. I thought we played a pretty good game that we could have won.”
Johnston gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 10:39. He circled behind the net and used Colorado forward Zakhar Bardakov as a screen for a snap shot from the slot.
Hryckowian made it 3-1 at 16:07 when he put the puck into an open net from the bottom of the left face-off circle after Blackwood misplayed the puck behind his net.
MacKinnon cut the lead to 3-2 with two seconds remaining in the period, scoring on a one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle on the power play.
COL@DAL: MacKinnon strikes late in the 1st with a PPG
Benn gave Dallas a 4-2 lead at 1:52 of the second period when he tucked in a pass from Hryckowian, who was behind the net.
Necas made it 4-3 at 8:06 from the top of the right face-off circle.
“Two good teams going at it, back and forth. It’s what we expected. They’re a good team. You give them a couple more chances and they’re going to make you pay,” Benn said. “We know who we are and what we can do. We’re a confident group and it’s one game.”
NOTES: Dallas forward Roope Hintz left the game late in the second period after a battle along the boards with MacKinnon. He did not put any weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice by a teammate and a team trainer. It was his first game back after missing four due to an illness. … Prior to the game, Dallas general manager Jim Nill said that forward Radek Faksa will be out until near the start of the playoffs after he sustained a lower-body injury while rehabbing an upper-body injury he sustained while playing for Czechia in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. … Forward Nicolas Roy had one shot on goal in 8:46 of ice time in his Colorado debut after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. … MacKinnon leads the NHL with 16 three-point games and 42 goals.
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