While the Colorado Avalanche have muddled through some early season injuries, the Dallas Stars came out hot to begin the year, and Monday night’s contest pitted the defending Stanley Cup Champions against the only team above them in the standings. It was as physical and tightly contested as expected, as the most anticipated regular season contest to date lived up to expectations and felt very much like a playoff game.
The Stars came out hot and drove play early. Colorado weathered the storm, killed off a dangerous Dallas power play, then Mikko Rantanen drew a hook from Joel Kiviranta and sent the Avs to the man advantage.