Avalanche force Game 6 with big third period vs. Stars - tchieu

The Colorado Avalanche survived to fight another day while the Dallas Stars are flirting with disaster after once holding a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven second-round playoff series.

After two tight periods, the Avalanche scored three goals in the third period, riding the offensive wave to a 5-3 win over the Stars to force a Game 6. The victory kept Colorado's season alive, but more than that, it might have also swung the momentum of a series that Dallas seemingly had in hand. 

Several aspects of the series began to tilt in the Avalanche's favor on Wednesday. For one, the Avalanche gained their first regulation lead of the entire series in the third period of Game 5. That might not sound like something to boast about, but how they got there might be an important turning point in the series. 

The Avalanche took a 1-0 advantage in the series after winning Game 1 in overtime, 4-3. But since then, the team's stars had struggled, which hurt all aspects of their attack – including their power-play unit, which ranked fifth in the NHL (24.46) during the regular season. In Game 5, that all turned around. 

After going 0-for-8 on the power-play since Game 1, the Avalanche went 2-of-3 on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Colorado's trio of standouts finally awoke. 

Cale Makar, who had zero points over the previous three games, scored twice in the victory. Nathan MacKinnon also had a goal and an assist, with Mikko Rantanen adding a helper in Game 5 after the two combined for only two points in Game 2, Game 3 and Game 4. 

While the Avalanche can breathe a sigh of relief for now, the Stars aren't likely to fold easily. Several times on Wednesday night, it looked like Dallas might end Colorado's season. However, the Avalanche overcame one-goal deficits twice over the first two periods before eventually taking the lead in the third. 

Things were uncomfortable, even with the Avalanche up two goals late. Only a minute and 16 seconds after Makar's second goal, which gave Colorado a 4-2 advantage 4:28 into the final period, forward Logan Stankoven scored for the Stars to make it a one-goal game. MacKinnon would ultimately put the game to bed when he netted his fourth postseason goal at the 16:50 mark.

It's a series again. However, if the Avalanche want to successfully come all the way back from being 3-1 down to the Stars, they must play more like they did on Wednesday. Before their Game 5 victory, they had been outscored 14-5 over the previous three games. With no wiggle room left, any slip-up in Game 6 would likely mean an early postseason exit for Avalanche.