Colorado Avalanche handles Dallas Stars to force Game 7

Rookie defenseman Cale Makar scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, third-string goaltender Michael Hutchinson stopped 27 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Wednesday night to force a decisive Game 7 in their second-round playoff series.

Nikita Zadorov and Mikko Rantanen also scored, and Nathan MacKinnon added an empty-netter for the Avalanche, who staved off elimination for a second straight game to tie the series at three wins apiece. Colorado has never won a postseason series when trailing 3-1.

Game 7 is Friday.

The 30-year-old Hutchinson was back in net with starter Philipp Grubauer and backup Pavel Francouz both sidelined. It was just Hutchinson's second career NHL playoff start — and second win.

Miro Heiskanen scored for the Stars, while Anton Khudobin made 20 saves.

Both teams lost in Game 7 last season in the second round. Colorado is attempting to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2002. The Stars last went in 2008.

This marked the first time in the high-scoring series the winning team didn't net at least five goals.

MacKinnon's goal and assist give him at least a point in all 14 games this postseason. His 25 postseason points (nine goals, 16 assists) this season are the most by an Avalanche skater in a single postseason since Peter Forsberg had 27 in 2002.

Makar put Colorado up 2-1 midway through the second period by dropping down from the blue line, taking a pass from Rantanen and sailing the puck past Khudobin. Makar's 15 points this postseason are the most by a rookie defenseman in Stanley Cup playoffs history. Right on his heels, though, is Quinn Hughes, who has 14 points for Vancouver.

A banged-up Colorado squad saw captain Gabriel Landeskog limp off the ice after taking a skate to his right leg late in the second period. He briefly returned in the third. The Avalanche also had Conor Timmins leave the game.

Heiskanen scored the game's first goal late in the opening period when his shot glanced off the glove of Hutchinson and into the net. The 21-year-old Heiskanen leads all defensemen with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) during the postseason.

Dallas' advantage lasted less than two minutes as Colorado tied it up on Zadorov's goal. Just before the shot, Jamie Oleksiak pushed J.T. Compher into Khudobin, who never got a good look at the puck.

Notes

The St. Louis Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen to the Montreal Canadiens on in a move that clears valuable salary cap space to try to keep their Stanley Cup-winning captain.

St. Louis received a third- and a seventh-round pick in this year's draft in exchange for Allen and a 2022 seventh-rounder. Getting Allen's $4.35 million cap hit off the books is more significant because it increases the chances of re-signing pending free agent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

• St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong will likely have to make at least one more trade to fit Pietrangelo under the $81.5 million ceiling, though it's now a more reasonable proposition.

Dealing Allen also makes it clear Jordan Binnington is the Blues' starting goalie of the present and future. After coming out of nowhere in the middle of the 2018-19 season and backstopping them to the Cup, Binnington was only average during the regular season and he struggled in the playoffs.