Scoreboard	1	2	3	Odds
Colorado Avalanche 42-20-7-1	0	3	3	+5.5
Dallas Stars 37-24-5-3	1	0	3	-154

Avalanche vs. Stars Game 3 Prediction, Stanley Cup Playoff Odds

A second-period meltdown by the Avalanche opened the door for the Stars to score four goals in under 10 minutes and extend their Western Conference second round series lead to 2-0.

The Stars have not lost in five games, dating back to last round’s Game 4 against the Calgary Flames, and they took Game 2 over the Avs 5-2 on Monday night. The Avalanche are still the favourites on the NHL odds for Wednesday’s Game 3, at -138, with the Stars at +115.

Avalanche vs. Stars NHL Playoff Odds

The Stars are finding ways to win big games and are now 5-0 in their last five games against teams with a winning record and also 6-0 in their last six games playing on one days rest.

We could really see what this Avalanche team is made of as they are 6-0 in their last six games after losing the previous game by at least three goals, but they are now just 1-7 against the Stars since the start of the season.

The over has gone 5-0 in the high scoring Avalanche’s last five games overall, with the under going 7-2 in the last nine games between the Stars and Avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche

There is no issue with the top line as Nathan MacKinnon leads the playoffs with 18 points (7G, 11A), Mikko Rantanen has 13 points (4G, 9A) and Gabriel Landeskog has 11 points (1G, 10A). The Avalanche are being undone by the disappearance of their secondary scoring. After putting up 11 points in eight games, Nazem Kadri has only managed one assist and a -1 rating through the first two games of this series. The top line can’t do it alone. For the Avs to crawl back in this series they need players like Kadri to step up.

Controversy surrounded the Stars’ fourth goal by Esa Lindell. The Avalanche believed the goal didn’t cross the line, but a review confirmed the good goal and it ultimately didn’t make a difference as the Avs only mustered 10 shots in the third period after outshooting the Stars 20-6 in the first frame. With starter Philipp Grubauer seemingly out long term, Pavel Francouz made 22 saves on 26 shots in Game 2. It’s not all gloom for the Avs, though. They outshot the Stars 40-27 on Monday and they are not a team to get frustrated if the chances are there. They have a good shot at evening the series up over the next two games if Francouz can find a rhythm in net and the secondary scoring returns.

Dallas Stars

It was a comeback win in Game 2 for a Stars team that is seeing the emergence of defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who now leads Dallas in playoff points with 14 (3G, 11A). After going down 2-0 early in Game 2, the Stars scored four straight goals in under ten minutes in the second period, before sealing the game with an empty netter in the third. Anton Khudobin bailed out the team in the first period after facing 20 Avalanche shots in the opening frame alone, ultimately making 38 saves on 40 shots.

The top line stepped up again for the Stars with Alexander Radulov (1G, 1A), Tyler Seguin (1A) and Jamie Benn (1A) all recording points in the game. The Stars are in a great position, up two games, heading into game 3 on Wednesday. If the top line continues to produce and Khudobin keeps eliminating the Avalanche’s secondary scoring, Dallas will have a serious shot at playing in their first Western Conference Finals since 2007-08.