After another opening game disappointment, the Dallas Stars will try to rebound when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.Dallas has lost the first game of each of its last eight postseason series, following the team’s 5-1 loss to Colorado in Game 1 on Saturday. The Stars still won four of those seven previous series, including a second-round triumph over the Avalanche last year.”We don’t want to be in this situation, but we’ve had a lot of experience being down 1-0 in a series … Playoff time, you’re going to lose games, you’re going to win games. The most important game is the next game,” Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston said.Beyond the streak of Game 1 defeats, Saturday’s loss also continued the Stars’ season-ending winless skid. Dallas was 0-5-2 in its last seven games of the regular season.Game 1 was closer than the final score might indicate, as the Avalanche held only a 2-1 edge heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. Devon Toews scored 12:56 into the third period to extend Colorado’s lead, and Nathan MacKinnon (empty-netter) and Charlie Coyle put the game away in the final four minutes by scoring twice in an 11-second span.Jake Oettinger stopped only 19 of 23 shots, though it was something of a hard-luck outing for the Dallas goaltender due to two deflected Avalanche goals.Playing in his first NHL playoff game, Mackenzie Blackwood looked sharp in stopping 23 of 24 shots. Blackwood’s lack of playoff experience had been cited as a potential weak link for Colorado, but MacKinnon felt such concerns were overblown.”Prepare your best, do your best and see where the chips fall,” MacKinnon said. “I think that’s all you can really do. It doesn’t matter (if it’s) Game 40 or Game 1 of the playoffs. You know, (Blackwood)’s an amazing goalie … He made some huge saves (Saturday). It easily could have been 2-2 and all of a sudden it’s 5-1.”
