The Colorado Avalanche fell 6-2 to the Dallas Stars in game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Monday.
Colorado trailed 3-0 in the second period but seemed to have momentum building when Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored to pull the Avalanche within one.
However, shortly after, defenseman Sam Malinski was called for an elbowing penalty on Dallas’ Sam Steel. The Stars capitalized on the power play with a Wyatt Johnston goal to go up 4-2. Just over a minute later, Mason Marchment tipped in a shot to extend the Dallas lead to 5-2 after two periods.
When asked about the penalty calls after the game, Landeskog voiced his displeasure, saying:
“Those are kind of, maybe, between-your-calls there. A couple of those are preseason calls, I think. But regardless, we’ve got to fight through it and keep playing. We weren’t able to get the kill, unfortunately.”
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared a similar sentiment in his post-game press conference, implying the officiating was inconsistent given the physicality throughout the game.
“You got to play the game. That’s the way it is …. It’s a tough call when you’re looking at some of the physicality that’s going on at and away from the puck to get that interference call.” Bednar said.
Johnston finished with two goals for the Stars while Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley also added goals.
Jake Oettinger turned aside 26 shots to backstop the victory, while Mackenzie Blackwood gave up five goals on 18 shots before being pulled for Scott Wedgewood to start the third. Wedgewood made 8 saves in relief.
Avalanche HC Jared Bednar’s take on the 6-2 loss against the Stars
Jared Bednar expressed disappointment with his team’s performance in the 6-2 loss against the Stars. He said you cannot have key players struggling at this point in the season when you are facing good teams that finished similarly in the standings.
“It’s easy to fall down three when we give up those first two. A couple of strange goals for sure. We definitely needed to get sharper on the defensive side early in the game, but we pushed back and created some good chances at the other end.” Jared Bednar said.
The loss puts Colorado in a 3-2 hole in the best-of-seven series as it shifts back to Dallas for game 6.
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Edited by Ruth John S
