National Hockey League
Dallas 5, Colorado 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, August 22, 2020
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Steve Kozari, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 0

Alexander Radulov scored twice Saturday night for the Dallas Stars, who never trailed in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series in Edmonton.

Tyler Seguin, Blake Comeau and Roope Hintz also scored for the third-seeded Stars, who scored seven unanswered goals in Thursday's series-clinching win over Calgary. Radulov added an assist, while captain Jamie Benn had three, and goalie Anton Khudobin made 28 saves.

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, and Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist in what may have been a costly defeat for the second-seeded Avalanche. Starting goalie Philipp Grubauer left with an apparent lower-body injury 3:06 into the second in didn't return.

Grubauer lunged to his right to make a save but appeared to injure something on his left side, crumbling to the ice. He remained face-down for a couple minutes and was helped off the ice without putting any weight on his left leg.

Grubauer made seven saves on 10 shots. Backup Pavel Francouz stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced.

Radulov helped set up the game's first goal -- and Seguin's first goal of the postseason -- exactly four minutes in. The right winger batted down a puck and passed to Benn behind the net, who fed Seguin at the doorstep for a point-blank shot that went under Grubauer's glove.

MacKinnon tied the score just 1:04 later when he took a pass from Landeskog and shuffled the puck before firing a shot that sailed past Khudobin, who was screened by the Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen, off the post and in.

The Stars went ahead for good at the 9:51 mark, when Comeau's shot from just in front of the blue line ticked off the stick of Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves and fluttered past Grubauer.

Radulov score his first goal with 3:32 left in the first, when he descended upon Grubauer, took a pass from Benn and went to the backhand to tuck a shot through Grubauer's legs.

The Avalanche pulled within a goal 90 seconds after Grubauer exited, when Landeskog corralled the rebound of a shot by MacKinnon and maneuvered the puck under the extended leg of Khudobin.

The Stars went ahead by two goals again at the end of nifty 2-on-1 at 9:09 of the second. Seguin's shot was turned back by Francouz before Radulov swooped in and fired home the rebound past sprawling Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole and Francouz.

MacKinnon's redirect of a shot by Samuel Girard closed the Avalanche's deficit to one goal with 1:31 left in the second, but Hintz again extended the Stars' lead at the 8:47 mark of the third. Colorado pulled Francouz with more than three minutes left but could not close the gap.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Colorado
Alexander Radulov 3 Points Nathan MacKinnon 3
Alexander Radulov 2 Goals Nathan MacKinnon 2
Jamie Benn 3 Assists Samuel Girard 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Anton Khudobin .903 Save Percentage Pavel Francouz .900
Anton Khudobin 28 Saves Pavel Francouz 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Dallas 30 5 0-2 1-1 4 38
Colorado 31 3 0-1 2-2 6 32
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .659 after a win and .517 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Stars have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .452 after a loss.