Dallas Stars center Sam Steel celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)

Avalanche Facing Some Adversity Will Be Good

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Ryan Womeldorf | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 11:25 AM ET

Things have been about as tough as can be when you have the most team points in the NHL. Yet that is where the Colorado Avalanche find themselves. In the wake of a 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars, the Avalanche are staring down more questions than answers.

Having lost four of their last five games, it may feel like a time to panic if you are an Avalanche fan. Taking a positive spin on what has been happening, a bit of adversity might be a good thing for the Avalanche heading into the playoffs.

Here Come the Dallas Stars

The Stars have always been a good team. In any other year, their record throughout this season would have been good enough to have them sitting atop the division. They just happened to be in the same division with a team on a historical pace.

The Stars were on fire going into the Olympic break, having won their final seven before the stoppage. They came out of the break without missing a beat, currently on a 9-1-1 run since returning to action on Feb. 25.

The Avalanche, meanwhile, had a very un-Avalanche-like 7-4-1 run going into the stretch and are just 4-5-1 since. The Avalanche haven’t necessarily been bad, but they have looked human at a time when the Stars have not.

Adversity Can Be a Motivating Factor

Let’s make one thing clear right off the bat: losing the Central Division to the Stars would not be good. That being said, the Avalanche could use a bit more motivation. Nathan MacKinnon is in an epic scoring race even with gripes about the current lineup. Cale Makar is chasing a Norris Trophy. Individual achievements can make for excellent motivation but that can be hard to translate to team efforts.

That being said, the team hasn’t felt real pressure to win in a long time. They got out to a massive lead in the division but have seen that lead dissipate slowly but surely. Rather than simply cruising into the playoffs, the Avalanche now have to ratchet up the intensity down the stretch run.

Simply dominating is great but it also leads to complacency. Feeling that pressure from the Stars ultimately gives the Avalanche something more to play for when they wouldn’t have had that motivation otherwise. It isn’t ideal that it could cost them playoff seeding, but it might light a fire under them going into the playoffs and show them that they need to elevate their game and not coast on having the best roster in the NHL.

Building Momentum is Crucial Right Now

It felt like a win over the Seattle Kraken was the start of the Avalanche getting back on track. Instead, they have once again sputtered. They have a favorable stretch ahead of them with the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets (twice), Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks between now and April 1.

There is still one more showdown with the Stars looming on April 4, and that matchup could look quite a bit different depending on how both teams do over their next 6-8 games. The Avalanche can take the pressure being applied by the Stars and use it to propel themselves forward down the stretch.