20/20: MacKenzie Blackwood flips expected script in Game 1 win for Avalanche

The Stars were supposed to have the goalie advantage, right?

The Colorado Avalanche opened Game 1 of their first round series with the Dallas Stars with a 5-1 win in Texas.

For the Stars it’s pretty familiar territory, they’ve know lost Game 1 in eight straight series, which they’ll have to dig out of again.

Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews, and Charlie Coyle scored for the Avalanche.

Roope Hintz had Dallas only goal.

Game 2 is Monday, I will be on location in Dallas. This is the 20/20.

1. If there was a clear edge on paper coming into this series it was in net.

The Stars had the Jake Oettinger, one of the American goalies at the 4 Nations Face-Off and a goalie with a playoff track record of success.

Colorado was starting a 28-year-old goalie that had struggled in April and had never played a minute in the NHL playoffs.

And in Game 1 it didn’t matter.

MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of 24 shots, and had a couple dazzling stops.

2. Most notably, Blackwood had timely saves that swung momentum.

In the second period he made a difficult stop sliding right to left before Colorado took a 1-0 lead.

In the third period, when it was 2-1, Blackwood made two big stops on Mason Marchment before Devon Toews scored at the other end to make it 3-1.