Colorado's Playoff Playbook

Three tactical wrinkles

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• Understand key tactical matchups as you watch the game

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I wasn’t liking the Colorado Avalanche’s odds when the Dallas Stars went up 3-0 early in Game One. And yet COL fought back to win in overtime.

The Avs put forth a tremendous effort against a strong team. Not only did they work hard, but they also worked smart at critical moments to score the (light) upset.

Here are three COL plays you can watch for the rest of this series.

1. PP Rotation Into 2-1-2

COL96 Rantanen, a winger, overpowers DAL53 Johnston on the opening faceoff of the two-minute minor. The Avs trust Rantanen to win the left-side draw, which allows them to set up a COL29 MacKinnon one-timer within seconds of puck drop.

DAL’s 1-2-1 diamond PK discourages that set play by having DAL3 Tanev in MacKinnon’s shooting lane.

COL consequently shifts into a 2-1-2, with MacKinnon up, Rantanen down and COL13 Nichushkin across to the back post.

Makar scrambles to beat Johnston’s pressure and sends the puck toward the net, into a natural weakness of diamond PKs.

Nichushukin, who is now in Tanev’s blind spot, puts home the rebound.

2. Beat F1, Four in the Rush, Exploit Collapse DZC