No matter how far you’ve dug, a hole is a hole.

And that’s what this team finds themselves in, a hole.

All is not lost for the Dallas Stars, however, because there is a reason why they play a best-of-seven series. This is (mostly) the same team that made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last playoffs.

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But, a 0-1 hole against a team like the Colorado Avalanche isn’t easy to overcome. If they are going to claw back on Monday night to even up the series, it will be with the following lineup.

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These are the expected forward lines based off morning skate.

Granlund - Hintz - Dadonov

Marchment - Duchene - Seguin

Benn - Johnston - Rantanen

Back - Steel - Blackwell

Having the offense spread out across three lines makes some sense. When is it too early to ditch this thinking to load up the top two lines to get an offensive outburst? That answer may or may not be answered tonight.

These are the defense pairings based on what was seen at morning skate.

Lindell - Ceci

Harley - Lyubushkin

Bichsel - Petrovic

Alex Petrovic getting the nod over Matt Dumba is certainly a choice. Dumba is a better skatter, so why opt for a slower player against the high-flying Avalanche?

Oettinger

DeSmith

Jake Oettinger is the expected starter for Monday’s game. This is no surprise as he has been the Stars best goaltender this year (and beyond).

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