Game 6 Capable of a Classic in Colorado?

Game 6 represents a brand new life for the Avalanche. Like a fresh Colorado morning snowfall not yet trampled by the kiddos running to school, the Ball Center will see white-out conditions with swirling towels as the Colorado Avalanche attempts to finish their ascent up the mountain to tie this series at 3 games apiece. 

The Dallas Stars are likely angry with themselves for even playing Game 6. Don’t get me wrong; Colorado earned its Game 5 win with a clutch third period from the superstars they rely on. But Dallas has a Game 1 OT loss to fret about when considering missed opportunities in the series. 

Can the Dallas Stars win a third road game in this series to close out the Avs in Game 6, or will we be talking about the most exciting sports game on the calendar this weekend – Game 7 in Dallas? 

More from Colorado’s M&M Boys in Game 6

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were both excellent in the third period of Game 5, allowing Colorado to return to Ball Arena for a Game 6. The exciting all-star defenseman Makar scored two key goals, particularly the power play goal late in the second that tied the score at 2. Once Colorado had their first lead of the series, Makar added the insurance goal. 

Meanwhile, Nathan MacKinnon put the final nail in the coffin with the Avalanche’s fifth goal at 16:50. Dallas was mounting a comeback effort to tie the game before the Avalanche captain whipped a puck past Stars’ goalie Jake Oettinger to finish the scoring, 5-3. 

The pair of teammates need to lead the Colorado offensive attack if they hope to return to Texas for one more game.  

Stay the Course for Dallas… Except Maybe Hold the Lead?

Surprisingly, there really is not all that much Dallas needs to change about their game to come away with a win in Game 6 except for maintaining the lead they’ve established. That is much easier said than done against an uber-talented attack featuring one of the best forwards and one of the top defensemen in the game. Coach Pete DeBoer expected the difficulty:

“It’s a hard thing to do,” the Stars coach said Thursday. “You’re down to the eight best teams in the league right now, so it’s hard to close anyone out. If it takes six or it takes overtime in seven, the bottom line is, you just want to move forward.  

The Dallas Stars would like to follow the Eastern Conference’s New York Rangers as the second of four teams to advance in the Playoffs. 

The Stars would play the winner of the Oilers-Canucks series currently led by the Edmonton Oilers. 

Dallas Hopes Dependent Upon Oettinger’s Play in Game 6

Jake Oettinger has been almost unbeatable on the road for the Dallas Stars in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The gigantic netminder has a .964% save percentage, allowing less than 1.5 goals/game. Dallas is averaging 3+ goals/game this series. This way, overly simplified math suggests that if Oettinger plays to form, Dallas should escape Ball Arena with a 4-2 series win and punch a ticket to the Western Conference Finals. 

It is never that easy, but this is why we play the games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Enjoy the amazing hockey in Game 6 from Denver, Colorado!