Former Stars Forward Crucial for Avalanche Series Victory

A former Dallas Stars forward could be the key to the Colorado Avalanche advancing.

Mar 4, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) shoots the puck in the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The storyline commanding the most attention in the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars' playoff series is forward Mikko Rantanen. The former Avs superstar is now with the Stars, and he's expected to be an impactful player all series long.

There's another forward with ties to both the Avalanche and Stars that could be equally impactful. Colorado winger Valeri Nichushkin began his NHL career in Dallas, but he's made his name as a Stanley Cup-winning power forward for the Avs. In a series where superstars will dominate, a complementary player like Nichushkin could be the key for Colorado to advance.

Limited to 43 regular season games this season, Nichushkin was incredibly effective. He still managed 21 goals, the third-highest single-season total of his career. Averaging over 19 minutes of ice time, he finished with 34 points in those 43 contests, giving the Avs a productive secondary scorer entering the postseason.

Giving Nichushkin and the Avs more hope that he will succeed is his recent success against his former team. Over his past 10 contests against Dallas, the Russian-born forward has four goals, three assists, and seven points.

Even more encouraging is his performance during the 2024-2025 regular season. In two games, he has two goals and three points.

The focus of the Stars' defensive plan is Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon. The superstar forward just finished another MVP-caliber campaign, scoring 116 points. Dallas will ideally match the defensive pairing of Thomas Harley and Ilya Lybushkin against MacKinnon's line.

That leaves the Esa Lindell and Cody Ceci pairing or the Brendan Smith and Matt Dumba pairing as a potential matchup nightmare for the Colorado line of Nichushkin, Brock Nelson and Jonathan Drouin. Aside from Lindell, the other three Stars' defensemen routinely are out-chanced and outscored at even strength. 5-on-5 is also where the majority of Nichushkin's production has come this season.

If the Avalanche take advantage and Nichushkin capitalizes on the opportunity, he could be a leading scorer in this series. It will also give Colorado's secondary scoring a leg up on the Stars and could ultimately decide the series' outcome.

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