EDMONTON, Alberta — High-scoring rookie defenseman Cale Makar connected on an early power-play goal, 30-year-old Pavel Francouz recorded a shutout in his postseason debut and the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 4-0 round-robin win over the Dallas Stars.
Joonas Donskoi, Vladislav Namestnikov and Andre Burakovsky also scored as the Avalanche improved to 2-0 in the three-game round that will determine playoff seeding for the top four teams in the Western Conference.
The Stars have lost both of their games and are likely to finish where they started as the fourth seed.
Colorado can't finish any lower than the No. 3 in the Western Conference. Their final game of round-robin play will be against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, with the No. 1 seed in the West possibly on the line. A win for Colorado guarantees the top spot.
