Stayin’ alive.

The Avalanche have forced a Game 6 in their best-of-7 Stanley Cup playoff series, and Gabriel Landeskog remains positive they can win Wednesday and make it to a Game 7.

“We’re going to do everything we can to keep this thing going,” the captain said Tuesday.

The Avalanche scored five first-period goals on Monday on the way to a 6-3 win.

Third-string goalie Michael Hutchinson, in the first playoff start of his NHL career, made 31 saves, 17 in the third period with Hunter Miska as his backup after Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz were ruled “unfit to play.”

Hutchinson, who relieved Francouz in the third period Sunday in the Avalanche’s 5-4 loss, made one start for the Avalanche following his Feb. 24 trade from Toronto -- a 2-1 win in Detroit on March 2 in which he had 17 saves.

NHL.com GAME STORY

Coach Jared Bednar on Tuesday wouldn’t disclose whether Hutchinson would play Wednesday or reveal any other part of the lineup.

NHL.com HUTCHINSON COMES THROUGH

Discipline remains a problem, along with special team play; the Avalanche took nine penalties Monday -- two for unsportsmanlike conduct -- went 0-for-6 on power plays and allowed two goals in six shorthanded situations.

They’ve gone 5-for-28 on power plays (17.8 percent) in the series and are 15-for-22 killing penalties (68.2 percent).

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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Best-of-7, Rogers Place, Edmonton

All times Mountain Time
Dallas leads 3-1

Game 1 -- Dallas 5, Avalanche 3
Game 2 -- Dallas 5, Avalanche 2
Game 3 – Avalanche 6, Dallas 4
Game 4 – Dallas 5, Avalanche 4
Game 5 – Avalanche 6, Dallas 3
Wednesday, 6 p.m. NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA
*Friday, TBD

*If necessary

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“We know our power play has been good, and there’s no excuse for us not to be good,” Landeskog said. “It’s just a matter of us going out and executing. Last night was one of those nights (where) we had some looks.

“I thought we got back to more of a shooting mentality (they had 12 shots), which is good, but some nights it’s going to work and some nights it’s not. But nonetheless, both our penalty killing and our power play need to be good for us.”

Bednar on Monday morning had described the Avalanche’s mood as “grumpy” and “angry” – “I feel like our team has a little snarl on,” he said – and Landeskog said the mindset will be similar Wednesday.

“We’re looking at this the exact same way, and obviously we expect the Stars are going to come out and push back,” Landeskog said. “That’s just the way it goes. In a playoff series when one team wins and one team loses, usually the losing team will make some adjustments, whether it’s mindset or structurally, so I’m sure we expect some changes and some more pushback from them in the first 5-10 minutes, like they were in Game 4. We have to come out the same way we did last night.”

Nathan MacKinnon, who has a 13-game point streak, can tie Mark Messier (Edmonton in 1988) and Bobby Orr (Boston in 1970) for the second-longest postseason-opening streak in NHL history. He leads all playoff scorers with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists).

Bryan Trottier had a point in all 18 of the New York Islanders' playoff games in 1981.

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It’s official: Forward Vladislav Kamenev, who never was able to make much of an impact with the Avalanche – a couple of serious injuries didn’t help – has signed to play with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia.

Kamenev, 24, had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 38 games this season. He had 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 64 games with the Avalanche following his
2017 acquisition from Nashville as part of the three-way trade with Ottawa that sent Matt Duchene to the Senators.



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