3 Avalanche Players That Must Perform Against Stars
The Colorado Avalanche haven’t played in a week, after obliterating the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The performance put the league on notice, as they piled up 28 goals in the five games – against likely Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. The domination was interesting, considering the Jets ripped Colorado in all three of their games during the regular season.
Now the Avs turn their attention to the Dallas Stars in the second round – a team Colorado did pretty well against during the regular season, winning three of four games. The Avalanche notably won both games in Dallas, and came from behind in all three victories. Colorado had 19 different players score a point against the Stars this season – and they’ll need help from everybody to advance to the Western Conference Final. Here’s a look at three players that need to come through for the Avs to dump the Stars:
Valeri Nichushkin
It might not be anything personal for Valeri Nichushkin to face the team that drafted him, especially because he’s not anywhere close to the player that wore a Stars jersey for four seasons. He managed just 23 goals in 223 games across those four campaigns in Dallas, and the Stars unsurprisingly cut him loose before the 2019-20 season. Enter the Avalanche. Colorado signed him off the scrap heap a couple months before the season started, and it’s meant a renaissance for his career.
Nichushkin has put up at least 25 goals in two of the last three seasons, and currently leads the NHL with seven goals in these playoffs alone. He racked up 28 goals this season despite playing in just 54 games. It’s hard to believe he’s the same guy that scored zero goals in 57 games back in 2018-19. That feels like a million years ago, as he’s solidified himself as an incredible complement on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Those two don’t miss much, but Nichushkin has been there to clean up after them when they do.
Nichushkin might be the most important forward for Colorado in its series against the Stars, as Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger looks dialed in once again. The Avalanche are hoping their impressive effort against Hellebuyck carries over, but Oettinger will likely provide a tougher test. Nichushkin will be a vital cog not only scoring goals, but also for creating traffic in front of the net with his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame. If he keeps pouring on the pressure and scoring goals at his current clip, the Avalanche could be a lock for the Western Conference Final.
Devon Toews
There are plenty of solid defensemen in this series, but no one might be as important to the overall picture for Colorado as Devon Toews. Sure, Cale Makar is going to pile up a bunch of points and he’s a pretty darn good defender in his own right, but Toews delivers lots of important minutes, too, and is one of the team’s most important penalty-killers. Toews is arguably the best penalty killer on the club, and his play in that area will be paramount to Colorado’s success against Dallas – one of the best power-play teams in the league all season.
During the regular season, the Stars had the sixth-best power play at 24.2 percent. Avalanche fans know how potent the Colorado power play was in 2023-24, and they were just 0.3 percent better than Dallas. The Stars have scored four power-play goals so far this postseason, and are at 28.6 percent in these playoffs. Toews logged the 11th-most minutes on the penalty kill in the NHL this season, and the Avs are going to lean on him once again.
