Roope Hintz and Nathan MacKinnon dropped their gloves at 6:46 of the second period, with Colorado leading 2-1. For the Dallas Stars, it was an unmistakable flash of defiance in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan viewed Hintz’s willingness to engage as evidence of energy and character, particularly given the history between the two centers. Hintz and MacKinnon each received a five-minute fighting major. Gulutzan’s reaction made sense: Hintz is hardly a regular participant in staged punctuation, and the exchange carried genuine rivalry weight.
It still did not change the score. Nor should the fight be treated as the reason Hintz scored later. Hintz scored with 16:43 left. Seguin delivered the puck while working beneath the goal line; Hintz finished from the left circle. Miro Heiskanen earned the second assist. Dallas had 16:43 remaining to find an equalizer, but the tying goal never came.
That separation matters. The fight showed Dallas was willing to answer a difficult moment. The goal showed Hintz could turn a chance into something useful. The defeat showed that those qualities have to coexist with finishing throughout a game, not appear as isolated bursts.
Colorado’s goaltender, Mackenzie Blackwood, deserves much of the credit for keeping the Stars from making that final step. Blackwood faced Sam Steel’s breakaway with Colorado leading 3-1 and made the stop at the second period’s 17:37 mark. At the 19:36 mark, Hryckowian released immediately from the slot and Blackwood stopped him, too.
One save erased a rush chance; the other prevented a dangerous interior opportunity. Blackwood finished with 24 saves on 26 Dallas shots.
Those stops became more important once Hintz scored. A 3-2 game with more than 16 minutes left is hardly a sealed result, but Dallas needed another clean attacking sequence and never found one that beat Blackwood.
A late Jamie Benn attempt was blocked by Colorado’s Noah Juulsen at 13:44 of the third, one of the clearest reminders that the Stars remained close without producing the final touch.
The overall numbers reinforce the irritation. Dallas led 26-25 in shots on goal and 59-47 in attempts, while Jake Oettinger made 22 saves on Colorado’s 25 shots. This was not a night in which the Stars spent three periods under siege. They generated enough activity to win a tight game. Colorado simply converted its most consequential openings more reliably.
Necas supplied the sharpest example. His goal early in the middle period followed an exchange with MacKinnon and a finish off the return feed. His second goal came at 16:14, during a Colorado 5-on-3 advantage.
Oettinger stopped Devon Toews’ shot, but Landeskog moved the rebound to Necas, whose sharp-angle finish made it 3-1. The sequence was a reminder that special teams can punish even a close contest; Dallas’ penalty kill had no answer on that chance.
The Stars did receive a useful response from Tyler Seguin. His first-period power-play goal tied the game when a pass aimed toward Mikko Rantanen redirected off Artturi Lehkonen’s skate and crossed the line. Seguin later assisted on Hintz’s goal and finished with two points while Wyatt Johnston sat out with an illness.
