THN's Dallas Stars site continues its look at Dallas' Central Division opponents with this look at the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars eliminated the Avs in the playoffs last year, and Dallas has earned the right to be confident against Colorado again this season.
The Dallas Stars are going to be in an improved Central Division this coming season, and if they intend on winning the Central for the second straight year, they’re going to have to dominate their rivals the way they did last season.
To that end, THN’s Stars site is currently focusing on the Stars’ Central rivals, and examining how they match up against each team in their division. Tuesday, we began the process with a look at the No. 2 Central team last season – the Winnipeg Jets. And today we’re focused on the No. 3 team in the Central last year – the Colorado Avalanche:
DALLAS’ 2023-24 RECORD: 52-21-9
COLORADO'S 2023-24 RECORD: 50-25-7
DALLAS’ REGULAR-SEASON RECORD AGAINST COLORADO IN 2023-24: 1-2-1
DALLAS’ POST-SEASON RECORD AGAINST COLORADO IN 2023-24: 4-2
HOW THE STARS STACK UP AGAINST THE AVALANCHE IN 2024-25: Dallas lost their first three games against Colorado last year before winning in their final game against the Avalanche. And in the second round of the playoffs, the Stars dropped their first game against the Avs before winning the next three in a row and eliminating Colorado in six games.
In three of those four playoff wins over the Avalanche, Dallas scored at least four goals, and in three of the four wins, the Stars limited Colorado to just a single goal. The Avalanche have been a Stanley Cup champion recently, but last season, the Stars were the better team.
That’s probably going to be the case again this coming season, as salary cap constraints have whittled down the Avs’ depth and overall talent. Colorado’s bottom-six forwards and goaltending aren’t especially intimidating, and Dallas is, on paper, better than the Avalanche in those regards.
The Stars won’t get their first test against the Avs until the end of November, then their final two regular-season games against Colorado come on the road in mid-January and mid-March. But nobody would be surprised to see Dallas square off against the Avalanche in the 2025 post-season.
These are two of the better teams in the NHL, and the Stars have earned bragging rights over the Avs thus far. It won’t be easy for Dallas to eliminate Colorado next spring, but they’ve done it before, and they can do it again.
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