The Colorado Avalanche opened their 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs in commanding fashion with a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series Saturday night. Led by Nathan MacKinnon’s gritty performance and Mackenzie Blackwood’s stellar playoff debut, the Avs now hold a 1-0 series lead as the matchup heads into Game 2.
MacKinnon was at the heart of the Avalanche’s surge, enduring a high stick to the face, assisting on one bizarre second-period goal, and scoring another himself before sealing the game with an empty-netter — the 50th playoff goal of his career.
“I just tried to stay focused,” said MacKinnon, who was bloodied by a double-minor penalty that led to a pivotal power play. “Sometimes that edge brings out the best.”
That extended power play turned the tide for Colorado late in the second. MacKinnon’s shot deflected off Dallas defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and fluttered awkwardly past goalie Jake Oettinger to make it 2-0. Just minutes earlier, MacKinnon set up Artturi Lehkonen for an equally strange goal. Lehkonen, crashing to the ice alongside Mavrik Bourque, had the puck bounce off his lower left leg and into the top corner. After video review, officials confirmed there was no distinct kicking motion.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had little chance on either of those fluke goals and finished with 19 saves. His team is now 0-7 in playoff series openers under head coach Pete DeBoer, who has yet to win a Game 1 with Dallas since taking over in 2022 — six of those losses have come at home.
Mackenzie Blackwood, the Avs’ midseason acquisition from San Jose, made his long-awaited playoff debut after 252 regular-season games across three teams. He looked anything but untested, making 23 saves and stopping four shots in an 11-second span during the second period that preserved Colorado’s momentum.
“Blackie was unbelievable,” MacKinnon said postgame. “Cool, calm, and just gave us so much confidence back there.”
Devon Toews extended Colorado’s lead to 3-1 with 7:04 remaining in the third. MacKinnon added his milestone empty-netter with 3:08 left, and Charlie Coyle tacked on the final goal just 11 seconds later.
Dallas briefly made it interesting when Roope Hintz scored on a power play with 13:15 left to cut the deficit to 2-1. That came shortly after a timeout from DeBoer aimed at resetting his team, but the rally was short-lived.
This marks yet another rough playoff opener for the Stars, who limped into the postseason winless in their final seven regular-season games (0-5-2), including four straight losses at American Airlines Center where they had previously been dominant (28-5-3).
Saturday also marked a milestone win for Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, who picked up his 50th career playoff victory — the most in franchise history, surpassing Bob Hartley. Bednar, who led the Avs to a Stanley Cup in 2022, reached the mark in just his 82nd postseason game.
Meanwhile, former Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen made his Stars postseason debut after a midseason trade saga that saw him briefly land with Carolina before being shipped back to the Central Division. Rantanen, who signed a $96 million, eight-year extension with Dallas, recorded three shots and one block over 18 minutes of ice time against his former team.
Game 2 is set for Monday night in Dallas before the series shifts to Denver, where the Avalanche will look to maintain momentum — and the Stars will hope to break their opening-game curse.
