Three reasons Stars will eliminate Avalanche in second round
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.
The Western Conference second-round playoff series between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche begins Tuesday at the American Airlines Center at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Stars eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round while the Avalanche defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games.
These are the three reasons Dallas will win the series:
Team defense
The Stars’ defensive approach and structure are consistent and effective. Their deep and talented forward group not only produces offense but also tends to their responsibilities defensively. Meanwhile, Dallas’ defense corps is mobile, takes care of its own end, and is physical and skilled enough to create more than enough offense from the blue line.
The speedy Avalanche’s best defense is having the puck, which they do most of the time. But Colorado tends to be a bit loose when the other team has possession.
Goaltending
Despite only being 25, Jake Oettinger has consistently shown the ability to be one of the NHL’s elite goalies. He had a 1.95 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in the first round against Vegas.
In the net at the other end will be Alexandar Georgiev.
The first clue that there is an issue is that his nickname is “Four-giev.” Despite winning 38 games during the regular season, Georgiev had a 3.02 GAA and .897 save percentage.
Balance
Very simple here: The Stars can create a lot of offense and still not give up much defensively, while the Avalanche create more offense but give up a lot more defensively.
And Dallas has a better goalie.
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