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The Dallas Stars are hosting the Colorado Avalanche for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs West second round at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, SN, and TVAS on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Colorado, despite a slow start in Game 1, managed to pull off a 4-3 win in overtime and have been struggling since, with a total score of 14-5. However, Dallas came back strong with a 5-3 victory in Game 2 at home, followed by a 4-1 win in Game 3 and a 5-1 road win in Game 4, giving them a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Stars have successfully defended 8 straight penalties in this series and have an 85% penalty kill rate since April 24. Their save percentage of .925 against the Colorado puts them close to a series win.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Game preview
The Colorado Avalanche are in a must-win situation to keep their season alive and push the series to a sixth game on Friday. They have a 3-2 record on the road in these playoffs.
Their leading playoff goalscorer, Valeri Nichushkin, has been suspended for at least six months, which is a major blow for them.
In the last game, Casey Mittelstadt was the only goal scorer for the Avalanche. In the postseason, Artturi Lehkonen has made significant contributions with five goals, four assists, and 30 shots on goal.
Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen have together added nine goals and 27 assists. In the net, Alexandar Georgiev, with a record of 5-4-0, a GAA of 3.10, and an SV% of .891, has conceded 28 goals on 247 shots.
The Avalanche are averaging 4.11 goals per game, have a 30.8% power play success rate, are conceding 3.56 goals per game, and have a penalty kill rate of 72%.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars are aiming to win the series and advance to their third conference finals in the last five years. They have a home record of 3-3 in these playoffs and have scored 14 goals in the last three games.
In the last game, they won 5-1, with Cscoring two goals and one assist. Sam Steel, Evgenii Dadonov, and Miro Heiskanen (2 assists) each scored one goal.
The Stars are averaging 3 goals per game, have a power play success rate of 30.8%, are conceding 2.27 goals per game, and have a penalty kill rate of 77.3%. Jake Oettinger, with a record of 7-4-0, a GAA of 2.02, and an SV% of .923, has conceded 23 goals on 298 shots.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Injury report
Gabriel Landeskog and Logan O'Connor from the Avalanche are ruled out for the season due to knee and hip injuries respectively.
From the stars, Jani Hakanpaa is also out with a lower-body injury.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Head-to-head
The Dallas Stars have an all-time playoff record of 17-19-0-0 when playing against the Avalanche. In faceoff, the Stars lead with a success rate of 51.8%, while the Avalanche have a lower success rate of 46%.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Spread
The Stars are expected to lead by 1.5 goals. The odds are +168 for the Stars to beat the spread, while the Avalanche stands at -205.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Over/Under
Game 5 has a projected total score of 6.5 goals. The odds stand at +104 for scoring more than this are +104, while the odds for scoring less are -128.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars: Series odds and score prediction
Dallas, being the favorite with odds of -146, holds a 59.2% probability of winning this game. Conversely, Colorado, the underdog with odds of +122, carries a 45.2% chance of a road victory tonight.
Score Prediction: Dallas 4-2 Colorado
