The series shifts to Denver, but the visitors dominated the opening of Game 3, creating several dangerous chances against Alexander Georgiev. The Colorado Avalanche quickly regrouped, seized control, and consistently pressured Jake Oettinger. Dallas incurred two consecutive penalties but managed to kill both, and with 1:30 left in the first period, Logan Stankoven opened the scoring. It was the young Texan forward’s first playoff goal. Notably, Stankoven made his NHL debut this season and scored six goals between March 24 and February 20, but had since gone cold.
In the second period, the Avalanche intensified their attack on Oettinger, doubling his shot count by the midway point, and tied the game. Mikko Rantanen was quickest to the rebound, netting his third goal of the playoffs. However, joy was short-lived. Five minutes later, Dallas entered the zone, and Evgenii Dadonov delivered a perfect pass to Tyler Seguin, who only needed to deflect it in.
Colorado had to rally again, but in the third period, they resembled a boxer who expended all energy early and then grew exhausted, allowing numerous chances. Dallas launched dangerous attacks, forcing Georgiev to make several key saves. Eventually, Jared Bednar pulled his goalie for a six-on-five advantage, hoping for a lucky break. But luck was not forthcoming: Colorado had six power-play chances in the previous two games without converting. In the final minutes, they failed to generate anything in the offensive zone. Instead, Seguin and Stankoven each scored empty-net goals to complete a double. Colorado quickly squandered their home-ice advantage. Bednar expressed disappointment in the post-game press conference, criticizing poor defense and ineffective power-play units. Dallas coach Peter DeBoer, however, praised his team’s near-perfect performance in Game 3.
**Betting Odds for Game 4:**
– Colorado Avalanche win: from 2.19 (BetBoom) to 2.28 (Betsiti)
– Dallas Stars win: from 2.69 (BetBoom) to 2.88 (Olimpbet)
