The Dallas Stars had only one day of rest after winning Game 7 against last year’s Stanley Cup champion. Now, they’re gearing up for a tough second-round series against the well-rested 2022 champion Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference playoffs.
Coach Pete DeBoer and his top-seeded Stars fought hard in a close series against Vegas, with both teams scoring 16 goals.
Their next challenge is facing the Avalanche, who have had a full week of rest since finishing their opening round with an impressive 28 goals in just five games against a strong defensive team.
“We’ll need to adjust our game plan once we’re in the series and figure out how to win,” DeBoer said on Monday. “My first impression, after seeing what they did to Winnipeg, is that we shouldn’t engage in a high-scoring game. However, we won’t solely focus on defense throughout the series. We have other strategies up our sleeve.”
Dallas also has a strong offense, boasting a franchise-record eight 20-goal scorers in the regular season and ranking third in the NHL with an average of 3.59 goals per game. The Avalanche led the league with 3.68 goals per game.
