National Hockey League
Colorado 6, Dallas 3
When: 9:45 PM ET, Monday, August 31, 2020
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: N/A

Andre Burakovsky had two goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche avoided elimination with a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night in Edmonton.

The Avalanche scored five goals in a 10-minute span during the first period to cut their deficit to three games to two in the Western Conference semifinal series. Game 6 of the best-of-seven set is scheduled for Wednesday.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each added a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Nazem Kadri also scored, and goaltender Michael Hutchinson, a 30-year-old making his first NHL playoff start, stopped 31 shots.

Joe Pavelski, Miro Heiskanen and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who were attempting to reach the conference final for the first time since 2008. Denis Gurianov had three assists.

Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop, making his first start since Aug. 13 after a stretch in which he was deemed unfit to play, was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots over the opening 13:43. Anton Khudobin came on in relief and stopped 20 of 22 shots.

Bellemare opened the scoring at 4:37 of the first, on a one-timer off a pass from Logan O'Connor.

It stayed that way until Burakovsky jumped on a rebound in the slot and beat Bishop at 11:51.

Just 41 seconds later, MacKinnon took a pass from J.T. Compher and put a one-timer past Bishop.

It took the Avalanche another 1:11 to score their fourth goal and knock out Bishop, as Kadri jumped on a loose puck in front of the net and put it in at 13:43.

Rantanen capped the surge at 14:27 of the first, getting his stick on Samuel Girard's backhanded shot to tip it past Khudobin.

Pavelski scored at 7:50 of the second and Heiskanen tallied on the power play at 17:31 to give Dallas hope of a third-period comeback.

However, Burakovsky scored at 18:04 of the second to give the Avalanche a four-goal cushion heading into the final period.

Benn scored the lone goal of the third on the power play at 14:12.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Colorado
Denis Gurianov 3 Points Andre Burakovsky 3
Miro Heiskanen 1 Goals Andre Burakovsky 2
Denis Gurianov 3 Assists Andre Burakovsky 1
Miro Heiskanen 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Anton Khudobin .909 Save Percentage Michael Hutchinson .912
Anton Khudobin 20 Saves Michael Hutchinson 31
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Dallas 34 3 2-6 6-6 38 37
Colorado 41 6 0-6 4-6 18 31
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .659 after a win and .517 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Stars have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .452 after a loss.