20/20: Stars outlast Avs in overtime to tie series at 1-1

Fun game in Dallas, that delivered after a downer in Game 1.

Fun night in Dallas.

The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime to tie the series at 1-1-1.

Game 3 is Wednesday.

This is the 20/20.

1. After a lopsided Game 1 on the scoreboard, this game delivered on the what we expected for two of the NHL’s best teams.

It was hectic and sloppy, but somehow laced with moments of brilliance. Each shift, in all four periods, felt important, and both teams made adjustments to address flaws from either in Game 1 or earlier in Game 2.

There were chances, both goalies did their part, and in the end it was really a lot of what we love about playoff hockey — heart palpitations for fans in Denver and Dallas and pure popcorn for anyone else.

2. And it finally ended when the player who was scratched in Game 1 who played hero in Game 2, as Colin Blackwell tracked down a rebound and roofed it over MacKenzie Blackwood.

Playoff hockey, can’t beat it, right?

3. The game reached overtime because of timely saves by both Jake Oettinger and MacKenzie Blackwood.

The Avalanche goalie stopped 36 of 40 shots, but like Game 1, he had a handful of saves that spoiled potential momentum and helped build to chances at the other end for Colorado.

Oettinger stopped 34 of 37 shots, had to handle more rushes than the Stars would have like, and made a statement glove save with 12.8 seconds remaining on the penalty kill to make sure the game made it to the extra session.