Game 6 of the Western Conference Playoff Series between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche is set to take place on Friday night. Dallas is coming into this game with a 3-2 series lead, but Colorado will be looking to extend their season by at least one game.
Dallas won the Central Division title this season, and they gave them home ice advantage for this series, which is important. The Stars did miss out on a great opportunity to end this series in Game 5, but they have two more chances.
Colorado is a recent Stanley Cup Champion, and those teams are always impossible to eliminate in the postseason. The Avalanche are looking to use their home crowd on Friday night to help them even up the series.
Colorado comes into this game as the moneyline favorite at -120, while the Dallas Stars have moneyline odds set at EVEN.
Dallas Wants to Defend
The Dallas Stars would prefer to win this game by playing great defense, and then allowing Jake Oettinger to set the tone. Oettinger was shutting down the Avalanche through the first four games, but Game 5 was a bit of a struggle.
The Stars held opponents to just 2.83 goals per game during the regular season, and that’s going to be a huge key in this game. Dallas is not going to win a high scoring affair in Colorado, and they need to set the tone with their physicality.
Wyatt Johnston continues to be the player to watch on offense for the Stars, and he will need to score an early goal to spark his team.
Avalanche Finding Offense
Colorado has had a tough time generating offense in each game of the series, but Cale Makar took over in Game 5. Makar had a pair of goals in that win, and the Avalanche are extremely dangerous when he is getting involved.
Nathan MacKinnon is another player that has had a ton of postseason success, and he will be looking to make a move in this game. The Avalanche want to play a fast style of hockey, and the will be willing to take some risks.
Getting stops has not been a strength of this team this season, but they need to play just enough defense to get the offense off and rolling.
Game Seven Coming
Dallas should have ended the series in Game 5, but they just couldn’t find a way to slow down the explosive Avalanche. The Stars are now in serious trouble in this series, and getting things back under control will be a major issue.
Even though the Avalanche have been a shell of themselves at times this season, they can still get things back on track in a hurry. Colorado will be trying to speed up the pace and tempo in this game, and they are going to find some early offense.
Bet on the Colorado Avalanche -1.5. They will win their second straight game by at least two goals, pushing
