The Colorado Avalanche were unable to make a second consecutive multi-goal comeback against the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of their Western Conference second-round series on Thursday night — but Valeri Nichushkin continued his goal-scoring tear nonetheless.
The Russian star scored his postseason-leading ninth goal of the playoffs late in regulation, but it wasn't enough as the Avs lost 5-3 to the Stars at the American Airlines Center in Texas.
Despite the loss, Nichushkin tied Pat LaFontaine for the most consecutive games with a goal to start a playoff run. The veteran has scored a goal in each of Colorado's seven postseason games in 2024, and he continues to be a catalyst of the team's success.
If Nichushkin can score a goal in each of the next two contests — Games 3 and 4 at Ball Arena in Denver — he will tie Brayden Point with nine straight games with a goal. Point accomplished the feat en route to helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win the 2021 Stanley Cup. Reggie Leach holds the all-time longest goal streak in a playoff year, potting 15 goals over 10 consecutive games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975-76.
It's truly been an incredible run for Nichushkin so far, and although the Avalanche were unable to complete the comeback in Game 2, they still have home-ice advantage on their side as the series shifts north to Denver.
Valeri Nichushkin, Avalanche's comeback falls short in Game 2
For the second straight game, the Avalanche found themselves in a huge hole at the end of the second period. This time around, it was a 4-0 Stars lead heading into the final frame.
That's when the comeback began, with former Stars forward Joel Kiviranta, Brandon Duhaime and Nichushkin all scoring to get Colorado within a goal with just under four minutes left in regulation.
But that's as close as they would get, with Jake Oettinger making some timely saves and Esa Lindell scoring a long empty-netter with 21 seconds to go.
The difference in the game was special teams; the Avs went 0-for-3 on the powerplay, while the Stars capitalized on some irresponsible Colorado penalties en route to a 2-for-5 night with the man advantage.
“Just a lot of [penalty kills] tonight and it's tough to find rhythm in the game for everybody when we're just going to the PK,” said superstar defenseman Cale Makar afterwards, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers. “Those are unfortunate ones, just over the glass. It’s not like most of them, they're not in our zone. They're going over the glass in their zone, so maybe a little bit too strong. Then obviously too many men, that's just unfortunate.”
“Obviously when you take penalties, you’re going to chase a game a little bit,” echoed forward Andrew Cogliano. “You’re just behind it. We have to shore that up. At the end of the day, in the playoffs, you have to take the positives. It is what it is. We have to look at what we did wrong and correct it but we were down 4-0, we have a power play to tie it up at the end of the game there. So, we’ll definitely use that to propel us for the next game.”
The powerplay struggled, the penalty kill struggled, and the Avalanche were unable to win both games in Dallas. But, just like it was in Round 1 against the Winnipeg Jets, the Avs head home after stealing home-ice advantage back from the Central Division's top team.
In the opening round, Colorado went on to win the next three games after splitting the first two on the road, and they'll be hoping history repeats itself this time around. But Dallas will have something to say about that as they look to reach a second consecutive Western Conference Final.
It's the heavyweight matchup hockey fans were waiting for, and it's looking more and more likely like this is going to be a very long series. Game 3 from Ball Arena in the Mile High City is set for just past 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
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