Avalanche top Stars after wild third period

[August 27, 2020]  Nazem Kadri scored the game-winning goal in the third period and added an assist as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 6-4 Wednesday night in Edmonton in a wild Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Goaltender Pavel Francouz made 33 saves for the Avalanche, who cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

In a game that featured two lead changes in a six-goal third period, Kadri's deflection of a point shot with 6:06 remaining in regulation proved to be the difference.

Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, with Gabriel Landeskog, Andre Burakovsky and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare adding a goal apiece. Cale Makar logged three assists and Nathan MacKinnon had two.

Jamie Benn recorded a goal and an assist for Dallas, which also got goals from Blake Comeau, Denis Gurianov and Tyler Seguin. Anton Khudobin stopped 26 shots for the Stars, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped.

Game 4 will be Friday in Edmonton.

Seguin scored the lone first-period goal to give Dallas a 1-0 lead, but the Avalanche responded with a dominating second period.

Zadorov replied exactly one minute into the frame, blasting a slap shot after Kadri won a faceoff, and then Burakovsky gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead when he unloaded a glove-side wrist shot from the high slot at 4:41.

To cap the period, Landeskog was on the spot for a loose puck at the 11-minute mark of the middle period to make it a 3-1 game. With his assist on the play, MacKinnon stretched his point scoring streak to a franchise-record 11 games.

But the fun really began after the second intermission.

Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) sets up in front of Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (35) and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (2) during the third period in game three of the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

To the surprise of nobody, the Stars -- who have been living off comeback wins of late -- roared back and even took a lead. Gurianov made it a one-goal game when he one-timed a sharp-angled slapper from beneath the right circle 4:42 into the third period, and Comeau tied the clash by wiring a shot home with 10:58 left in the third period.

It looked like another Stars victory when Benn redirected Esa Lindell's point shot at 10:47, but Rantanen replied 65 seconds later to make it a 4-4 count.

Bellemare iced the clash with an empty-netter for the Avalanche.

The Avalanche, already without starting goalie Philipp Grubauer, defenseman Erik Johnson and forward Matt Calvert due to injury, had to replace forward Joonas Donskoi in the lineup. Colorado brought in forward Logan O'Connor, who made his NHL playoff debut, getting a team-low 7:44 of ice time.

--Field Level Media

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