There is only one team in the NHL that consistently vexes the Colorado Avalanche.
When the Avs play well, like truly a great game in all facets, they win nearly every game against 30 of the 31 potential opponents in the league. When they play suffocating defense and get strong goaltending, their offensive firepower eventually wins out.
That formula doesn’t seem to apply against the Dallas Stars. It had to feel like a case of déjà vu Wednesday night, both for the Avalanche players and the patrons at Ball Arena.
Colorado played one of its best games of the season. The defense was great. The goaltending was strong. The penalty kill was perfect. The power play was consistently dangerous.
And yet, the Avs did not win. When the two best teams in the NHL get together this season, it has essentially been a coin flip, regardless of how well the Avs play.
“I think you’ve got two teams that are very evenly matched and built similarly,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It is what it is. They’re a very good team. They’ve got great depth and scoring and they defend the right way and play the right way. I feel like we do the same. It’s why our records are where they are.”
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) of the Colorado Avalanche saves a shot by left wing Jason Robertson (21) of the Dallas Stars during overtime on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
Extra time to get to a winner
Colorado and Dallas are 1-2 in the Central Division, Western Conference and NHL standings. The two rivals have played three times this season, and all three showdowns have needed a shootout to provide a winner.
It feels like the culmination of a three-year dance between these two clubs. Colorado and Dallas have played 23 times since the start of the 2023-24 season. The Stars have the most points in the NHL over the past three seasons. The Avs are second.
The Avs are now 11-10-2 in those games. They are 5-8 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but 6-2-2 in the regular season. Eight of the 23 games have needed extra time, including seven of the past 14.
Colorado has scored 81 goals in those 23 games. Dallas has scored 78.
“Great organizations, both of them,” Avs goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who spent three years with Dallas before arriving in Denver early last season, said. “A lot of great people. A lot of skill. They both want to win. They both want to do the right things and beat each other. It’s always hard fought. It’s always a battle. Proved it again tonight.”
The Avs came away from Wednesday night feeling like they were the better team for the majority of the 65 minutes. All of the statistics agree with them, except the scoreboard.
That was the case in at least five of the games during their epic 2025 playoff series, but the Stars survived in Game 7 at home, thanks to a hat trick and four-point third period from Mikko Rantanen.
The process was great again on Wednesday night. Colorado held Dallas without a shot on goal for more than 16 minutes to start the game. The Avs nearly doubled the Stars up on the shot clock and won both special teams.
But Jake Oettinger was great, and the Avs couldn’t find a second goal to prevail before the shootout.
“Both teams played extremely hard,” Bednar said. “I’m sure both teams come out of this game happy with their game. We know that’s what it’s going to look like. As much as we can play like that down the stretch, the better prepared we’re going to be for the playoffs.”
Defenseman Cale Makar (8) of the Colorado Avalanche passes cross-ice during the third period against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
Likely on a playoff collision course
When these two teams play a wide-open game, there is little to separate them. When both sides lock in on the defensive side of the puck, there is even less.
The process was great. The experience gained, the positive work the coaching staff will point to in video sessions, could help propel the Avs in the final month of the season.
For now, the Avs have to forget about trying to solve the Stars. They need to hold them off in the standings to avoid a first-round date with the Minnesota Wild, a club that has spent a decent chunk of this season in third place in the Central, West, and NHL standings.
There will be one more meeting, for sure, on April 4 in Dallas. Regardless of who wins the Central, the other will be favored to survive a series against Minnesota.
The chances of another seven-game war, this time in the second round, are pretty high. Both clubs will get key players back from injuries. And given everything we’ve seen over the past three seasons, the margins between them will be razor-thin.
“I think it’s going to be something different on every night. When you break it down into a series, if we’re fortunate enough to play them at some point, I think it’s a game of mistakes. If you look at (Wednesday) night, very few mistakes from our team.
“When it comes down to it, it’s you have to capitalize on a couple of their mistakes or the chances that you create and make sure they don’t on theirs, because there is only going to be a handful of quality scoring chances in any one of those games. You have to have every aspect of your game in order.”
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