Nobody likes Mondays, but this one was especially bad for the Colorado Avalanche. Hours after being informed by the NHL that one of their most productive players, Valeri Nichushkin, was suspended for six months, they fell to the Dallas Stars 5-1 in Game 4 of their second-round series. A slow start is largely what did them in, and despite all their talent, a push in the contest’s latter half never caused the Western Conference’s top-seeded Stars to wilt.
Wyatt Johnston, a Burgeoning Star
However long the team’s playoff run lasts, the Dallas faithful can rest assured that one of the league’s young stars is a Star. Wyatt Johnston put his stamp on Game 3 in more ways than one. Hours before celebrating his 21st birthday, the forward helped make life particularly difficult for the Avalanche. Dallas’ aggressiveness while on the penalty kill in the first period allowed Johnston to net his sixth of the postseason, and some exquisite puck movement fed him on the power play in the middle frame for a 2-0 lead and his seventh playoff marker.
Related: Avalanche’s Nichushkin Place in Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program
Dallas’ talented bunch showed superiority shortly after that when Miro Heiskanen floated a wrister from the blue line for which Avalanche keeper Alexandar Georgiev was screened. The hosts attempted a comeback through Casey Mittelstadt’s close-range effort that made it 3-1. That was as close as Colorado got, as more aggressiveness in the final frame from the Stars allowed Evgeny Dadonov to pounce on a rebound in close range to bolster their advantage to 4-1 before Sam Steel scored an empty netter late. Make the final 5-1 for Dallas.
With a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Stars head back to Dallas for Game 5 on Wednesday.