Blackwell scores 17:46 into OT as Stars beat Avalanche 4-3 to even 1st-round NHL playoffs series 1-1

By Canadian Press on April 21, 2025.

DALLAS (AP) — Colin Blackwell scored 17:46 into overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Monday night in Game 2 to even up their first-round Western Conference series.

Blackwell took a shot that was blocked in front of the net by a teammate, but with the loose puck wobbling on the ice, he circled around and knocked it into the top of the net for the winner.

Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley and Evgenii Dadonov also had goals for Dallas, which avoided losing the first two games in its opening-round series for the second year in a row. The Stars did open with their eighth consecutive Game 1 loss since 2022, after going into this postseason with a seven-game losing streak.

Colorado had finished the final 1:24 of regulation and first 34 seconds of overtime on a power play after a hooking penalty against Mikko Rantenen, who the Avalanche traded on Jan. 24 to Carolina in the East, where he played only 13 games before getting traded March 7 back to the Central Division to Dallas and getting a new $96 million, eight-year contract.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood had 35 saves in his second career playoff game, but the final shot went over his left shoulder.

Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play for his third goal in this series for the Avalanche, and his 51st in the NHL playoffs. Jack Drury and Logan O’Connor also scored.

The series switches to Denver to Game 3 on Wednesday night.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press

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