Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
1. Dallas = Flop City: Nobody does hockey’s dark arts like a Pete DeBoer team does the dark arts. Roope Hintz went after Nathan MacKinnon as if there were a price on No. 29’s head. But on a roster of hockey A.J. Pierzynskis, the Academy Award for Pure Sneakiness for Game 5 goes to — who else? — Jamie Benn. The Dallas captain added to his legend against the Avalanche about 5:30 into the third period when he skated into Colorado defender Josh Manson in front of the Avs’ net while Manson’s stick happened to be up.