An Avalanche legend returns. This time as a rival.
After extending their point streak against Minnesota and Calgary on the road, the Colorado Avalanche return home briefly for a matinee matchup against the Dallas Stars. This will be the third and final regular-season matchup between these two teams. This one is an emotional and highly anticipated matchup between Mikko Rantanen and his former teammates! Get your popcorn ready!
Colorado Avalanche
It’s no secret that this game has massive playoff implications for Colorado. Dallas is likely the team the Avs will play for the first-round matchup, and with their win over Calgary on Friday night, Colorado is just three points behind the Stars for second place in the Central Division.
As for the elephant in the room, Colorado will also take on Mikko Rantanen today. He returns to Denver with the Dallas Stars, which will be a strange sight for everyone involved. The saga continues as Mikko tells his side of the story ahead of his matchup with Nathan MacKinnon and friends. We hear there are dinner plans!
️ Mikko Rantanen
“I want to thank the organization, the players, the coaches, and the fans for the last 10 years… that’s the first thing I want to say… it’s going to be emotional”#TexasHockey | #GoAvsGo | @gs_off_ice pic.twitter.com/aBlTTqeRPI
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports_) March 15, 2025
Projected Lineup
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta — Charlie Coyle — Ross Colton
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Ryan Lindgren — Josh Manson
Samuel Girard — Erik Johnson
Dallas Stars
Dallas comes into this divisional matchup game off of another divisional matchup, in which they lost 4-1 to the Winnipeg Jets. This one is equally important to the Dallas Stars, who are clinging to that second spot in the Central. Some think home-ice advantage isn’t much of an advantage, but I’ve always argued that Colorado is the exception. Getting Dallas at altitude could be the tipping point in what should otherwise be a grueling and competitive first-round series against Dallas.
Everyone is ready for the Mikko Rantanen from Matt Duchene goal that’s bound to happen on Sunday right? #GoAvsGo
— Adrian Hernandez (@AdoHernandez27) March 13, 2025
Projected Lineup
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Mikael Granlund
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Evgenii Dadonov
Oskar Back — Mavrik Bourque — Sam Steel
Thomas Harley — Ilya Lyubushkin
Esa Lindel — Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel — Matt Dumba
Goaltending
It’s the season’s biggest game for both teams thus far, so expect the best on the best—Oettinger vs. Blackwood on national television. Here we go!