The Dallas Stars entered the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a wild losing streak. Despite advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, the team has not won Game 1 of a series since the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They won Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals but lost the series.
Dallas entered the postseason this year riding a four-game losing streak in Game 1’s, putting themselves in a hole right from the start. The streak continued in Round 1, as the Vegas Golden Knights won the first two games of the series in Dallas.
The Stars were able to recover, winning both Games 3 and 4 on the road. It took seven games, but they advanced to the second round, where they were matched up against the Colorado Avalanche.
Early on, it looked like their Game 1 losing streak would come to an end. The Dallas Stars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with Ryan Suter, Wyatt Johnson and Jamie Benn all scoring goals.
Unfortunately for Dallas, those would be the only goals they scored in the game. The Avalanche were able to hold them scoreless for the final two periods and overtime, mounting a comeback. Colorado would score four unanswered, capped off by Miles Wood scoring almost nine minutes into the first overtime.
“We had that game under control, and we let it slip away. But we’ve seen that in the regular season against them,” Stars forward Matt Duchene told reporters. “We had two games like that, so we have to bounce back here and split the homestand here.”
While the loss was a devastating one, blowing a 3-0 lead, the Dallas Stars are in familiar territory. They have been making adjustments after Game 1 losses for their last five series, as they could have the Avalanche right where they want them at this point.
“I think you learn about each other as a series goes on, and what we know about that team is what happened tonight,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “I think we had the lead. … They’re a quick-strike team. You can’t make mistakes in those situations. It’s a tough lesson to learn in Game 1, but glad you’re not learning it in Game 6 or 7 in an elimination game.”
Game 2 will be on Thursday night. The Dallas Stars will be looking to even the series, as they do not want a repeat of the first round, when they lost the first two games at home and needed to win four out of the last five to advance.
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