Nathan MacKinnon scores 2, assists on another as Avalanche open NHL playoffs with 5-1 win over Stars

Nathan MacKinnon took a stick to the face, had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period and capped his night with an empty-netter for his 50th career playoff goal.

And Mackenzie Blackwood backed up the Avalanche in a big way in the goaltender’s first playoff game after 252 regular-season games for three teams over eight seasons.

The two goals in the second period put the Avalanche ahead to stay, and Blackwood had 23 saves in a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Saturday night.

“I thought it was solid, really solid,” MacKinnon said of the opener of the Avs’ eighth consecutive postseason. “We had a lot of good looks, a lot of attempts. Maybe hit the net a little bit more, but I thought we played a pretty solid two-way game.”

MacKinnon scored on a shot that deflected off Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, and knuckled past goalie Jake Oettinger late in the second period. That came during an extended power play, a double minor against the Stars after he took a high stick to the face.

“Obviously they’re going to key on him like we do on some of their players,” coach Jared Bednar said of last season’s NHL MVP. “But really strong defensive game from him, and obviously get-up and go on the offensive side, he was making plays all night.”

Blackwood stopped four shots in a span of 11 seconds midway through the second period just before MacKinnon assisted on Artturi Lehkonen’s goal.

Lehkonen was following his initial shot and falling down after a collision in front of the net when the puck ricocheted off his lower left leg into the top corner of the net. The play was reviewed and officials ruled that there was no kicking motion by Lehkonen while tumbling to the ice with Mavrik Bourque.

There wasn’t much Oettinger could do on either of those goals as the Stars lost Game 1 in their eighth consecutive series in the NHL playoffs since 2022. They are 0-7 in series openers under coach Pete DeBoer, six of those coming at home.

“I guess the good news is we’ve come back and won more than our share of those series where we have (lost Game 1),” said DeBoer, whose teams made it to the West final each of the past two seasons. “So I think we got to concentrate on that.”

Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas, before the series shifts to Denver.

Devon Toews gave Colorado a 3-1 lead with 7:04 left. MacKinnon had an empty-net tally with 3:08 left, 11 seconds before Charlie Coyle scored.

This series-opening loss for the Stars came after they finished the regular season on an 0-5-2 stretch that included four losses at home after being 28-5-3 before that.

Blackwood is one of 11 players who have seen action since being acquired through Colorado’s eight in-season trades. He came from San Jose in December and played in 37 games for the Avs.

Those deals included the Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen on Jan. 24 to Carolina in the East, He played only 13 games before a deadline deal March 7 sent him back to the Central Division with the Stars and included a $96 million, eight-year contract extension.

Rantanen, who had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games for the Avalanche had three shots and one block over 18 minutes in his postseason debut with the Stars.

Oettinger had 19 saves, three when Colorado had a two-man advantage in the first period when Cale Makar drew two tripping penalties only 36 seconds apart from each other.

Roope Hintz, called for penalty against MacKinnon, got the Stars to 2-1 on his goal with 13:15 left in the game, just before the end of a power play and about a minute after DeBoer called a timeout.

Bednar got his 50th playoff win with the Avs — in his 82nd postseason game, equal to a full regular season. That broke a tie with Bob Hartley for the most wins by a coach in franchise history. Both won Stanley Cups — Bednar in 2022, and Hartley in 2001.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl