DENVER — Just like that, it’s a series again. The Colorado Avalanche rebounded excellently against the Dallas Stars in Game Four on Saturday night. It took four goals to beat the Stars 4-0 to tie the first-round matchup up at two. The series is now a best-of-three with at least one more game at home guaranteed for the Avalanche.

First Period

The game started quickly and fast with two former Finnish teammates trading chances. Mikko Rantanen had a give-and-go play stopped by Mackenzie Blackwood. At the other end, Artturi Lehkonen had a mini-breakaway go wide of the net. Cale Makar nearly followed suit, going coast-to-coast but finding the side of the net.

A slew of penalties then split up the teams in play. Logan O’Connor’s high-sticking penalty was killed off. In the same penalty kill, Jack Drury and Roope Hintz got into it. They received matching roughing and slashing penalties, respectively.

Devon Toews joined the parade to the box when he threw the puck over the glass. But instead of hurting Colorado, it benefited them. O’Connor forced a turnover on Thomas Harley and went short-side on Jake Oettinger for the shorthanded goal.

Mason Marchment continued his antics when he was called for elbowing Cale Makar after the whistle. Nathan MacKinnon made him pay in the final minute by squeezing one through Oettinger to double the lead going into the intermission.

Second Period

Intensity continued ramping up when MacKinnon laid out a man with a reverse hit in open ice. He then found Makar in the slot, but he was robbed by a sprawling Oettinger. It wouldn’t be the first great save of the period, as he had several. At one point, his teammates were pinned in for several minutes, and he bailed them out.

Even then, he was beatable. Sam Malinski had a bomb on an impromptu 5-on-4 with a broken stick for a Star. His slapshot snuck behind Oettinger, requiring him to snow angel on the ice to keep it out. But he would finally be beaten a third time: by none other than Gabriel Landeskog.

Gabriel Landeskog snipes home a beauty and Nathan MacKinnon is FIRED UP about it 🎯#GoAvsGo | #StanleyCupPlayoffs

— Hockey Daily 365 – NHL Highlights & News 🏒 (@hockeydaily365.bsky.social) 2025-04-27T03:22:02.834Z

Landeskog’s first goal back as an Avalanche was an emotional one for everybody in the building. But it was also an important one, solidifying the lead and continuing the onslaught. It was part of a stretch where Dallas was held without a shot for over 13 minutes.

Colorado kept firing at the Stars’ netminder but to no avail before the end of the period. Nonetheless, the Avalanche outshot Dallas 22-5 in the period and more than doubled them in shots in the game. But they still had one more period to close things out.

Third Period

The dominant second period by the Avs forced Pete DeBoer to pull Oettinger for Casey DeSmith. He’d be kept busy after Colorado killed off a Ryan Lindgren holding penalty, which involved a big save by his counterpart on Mikael Granlund.

DeSmith was almost beaten by Landeskog with a second goal off another feed from Brock Nelson. He would be beaten again, though, this time by Samuel Girard. His shot from the point got through Landeskog in front and off Lian Bischel and in. Landeskog tacked on an assist for his second point of the night.

Colorado would keep on cruising and close out the game. Blackwood ended with the 23-save shutout, his first of his playoff career, and capped off a stellar Saturday night at Ball Arena in the 4-0 win.

Observations from the Mountaintop

Colorado came out with intensity. It showed and paid off brilliantly. While Dallas was able to keep up to start, they couldn’t for the entire game. The late power-play goal in the first period by MacKinnon really put them behind the eight-ball, exactly what they needed to do. Then, in the middle frame, Colorado simply overpowered the visitors with the shot totals and puck possession. It helped to get the feel-good story of Landeskog’s goal, which was a great one at that. The Avalanche ran with it, and they managed brilliantly in what was likely their best game of the series. In all honesty, they were unlucky not to get more than four goals in the entire game.

If there’s one thing Jared Bednar might not like, it’s being undisciplined. It was shaky at the start with three Avalanche penalties. Another two were tacked on in the third as well by Ryan Lindgren. But when his team was disciplined and on top of things, it worked out perfectly in the middle period. Dallas’ power play is threatening, as has been demonstrated all series long. Perhaps Colorado figured something out for this game, but staying out of the box would help prevent even having to worry about it in the first place.

Of course, all things considered, Colorado could’ve been up 3-0 in the series if the OT’s had gone their way. It would’ve made the series sweep take place. Nonetheless, going back to Dallas tied at two games apiece rather than down 3-1 is huge. The series looks winnable again, after it looked a little gloomy after the Game Three loss. The big key is that the Avalanche needs to win another game in Texas. If they perform as they did tonight, they’ll have a great chance to do so.

Next Game

The series moves back to Dallas for Game Five. Puck drop on Monday night is at 7:30 p.m. MT.