Nathan MacKinnon had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period before adding an empty-netter late as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

There are very few players in hockey like Nathan MacKinnon. The list gets even shorter anytime the Colorado Avalanche are in the playoffs. MacKinnon reaches a whole different level in the postseason,

The Stars lost Game 1 in their eighth consecutive series in the NHL playoffs since 2022. They'll try to rebound on Monday night.