The Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars are going at it in a first-round series that could very easily be a conference finals matchup. The two division rivals both racked up over 100 points during the regular season,

After loaning Colorado Avalanche star Gabriel Landeskog to the AHL affiliate on a conditioning stint, head coach Jared Bednar voiced a key confession about the captain's potential return for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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 Saturday night.