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.

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

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,