Stars at Avalanche
Coming off a stunning third-period collapse in their season opener, the Colorado Avalanche look to bounce back when they host the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. Colorado appeared headed to a lopsided victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday before surrendering four goals in a span of 5:07 to absorb a galling 5-4 defeat.
"When you score four goals, those games you should win," Avalanche netminder Semyon Varlamov said. "There's a time when the goalie has to step up and stop those shots, it doesn't matter if they are tough ones or easy ones." Varlamov hopes to get back on track against an opponent he dominated last season, winning all four starts as Colorado went 5-0-0 versus Dallas. The Stars opened the season in impressive fashion with a 3-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Penguins and now look to reverse their struggles against the Avalanche. “If you are going to guarantee you are going to make the playoffs, you have to beat your own division,” forward Jason Spezza said.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE STARS (1-0-0): Offense was not an issue last season for Dallas, which scored a Western Conference-best 261 goals but was equally vulnerable at the other end of the ice and allowed just one fewer tally. That's why the Stars were buoyed by the performance of offseason acquisition Antti Niemi, who not only turned away 37 shots but also picked up assists on each of the Stars' first two goals. Captain Jamie Benn, who led the league in scoring last season, had a power-play goal while Mattias Janmark tallied in his NHL debut.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (0-1-0): Colorado had plenty of noteworthy moments before unraveling in the final 20 minutes, with free-agent signee Francois Beauchemin collecting three assists while blocking four shots and logging 22:06 of ice time. "I felt good, obviously," said the veteran defenseman, who spent his previous 4 1/2 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. "That collapse is just a stinger. Not a good feeling right now, but we'll regroup and get better on Saturday." Colorado's power play converted on both chances after ranking 29th last season.
OVERTIME
1. Stars coach Lindy Ruff on Friday said he hasn't decided whether Niemi or fellow G Kari Lehtonen will start Saturday.
2. Avalanche D Tyson Barrie had seven points in five games versus Dallas last season.
3. Dallas went 8-14-7 against Central Division foes in 2014-15.