Stars continue to prove doubters wrong entering Game 4 against Avalanche

DENVER -- There was a list of reasons to pick against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round, and there is another list of reasons why they should be trailing the Colorado Avalanche right now.

But they have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 at Ball Arena on Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, MAX, truTV, TBS, ALT, SN, TVAS), and frankly, they're a little miffed.

"I think we're getting better as the series goes on," Stars coach Pete DeBoer told a group of reporters Thursday. "And you know what? I think our group knows no one picked us to win this series, either. I'm not sure where your pick was."

Full disclosure: He was looking straight at me with a smile. I picked the Avalanche on NHL.com.

We all had a good laugh.

"I think our group felt that we were missing key pieces," DeBoer continued. "But I think the people we did have available to us I don't think were given as much respect as they probably should have been given, and I think they're showing that through the part of this series, and they're getting better every night."

That's fair. The Stars made the Western Conference Final each of the past two seasons and defeated the Avalanche in six games in the second round last season. They have won four straight playoff games at Ball Arena.

They are getting better every night. So, it's also fair to ask if the Avalanche have missed an opportunity.

The Stars went 0-5-2 down the stretch in the regular season, partly because of injuries, partly because they had nothing to play for with their playoff spot locked up.

Miro Heiskanen missed the final 32 regular-season games with a lower-body injury and was out for the start of the series. He's their No. 1 defensemen, one of the best in the NHL. He led the Stars with eight points (four goals, four assists) and 28:43 in average ice time in their victory against the Avalanche last year.

Jason Robertson sustained a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale at the Nashville Predators on April 16 and was out for the start of the series. The forward led the Stars in goals in the regular season (35) and was second in assists (45) and points (80).

Tyler Seguin missed 58 games recovering from hip surgery before returning for the regular-season finale. The forward was third on the Stars with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 19 games before surgery.

Mikko Rantanen was still adjusting after getting traded by the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, after getting traded by the Avalanche on Jan. 24. How important is he? Well, the forward signed an eight-year, $96 million contract upon his arrival for a reason.

The Stars lost 5-1 in Game 1. They trailed in the third period in Games 2 and 3. After tying Games 2 and 3 in the third, they took a penalty late in regulation each time and had to kill a penalty that carried over into overtime. In Game 3, it was a double minor.

But they killed the penalties. Defenseman Esa Lindell saved Game 3 by blocking a shot by forward Artturi Lehkonen that was headed for an open net.

They won in overtime each time -- 4-3 in Game 2, 2-1 in Game 3.

Suddenly, things are looking up for the Stars.

Seguin said Game 1 felt fast for him coming back from his long absence, but he has gotten up to speed and scored two goals since, including the OT goal in Game 3.

Rantanen went without a point in two straight playoff games for only the third time in his NHL career and took an offensive-zone penalty late in regulation in Game 2, then helped set up Seguin's OT winner in Game 3.

Meanwhile, captain Jamie Benn, who didn't score in his final 17 games in the regular season and the first two games of this series, ended his goal drought in Game 3.

The series has a two-day break, helping players like defenseman Thomas Harley, who leads the Stars with three points (one goal, two assists) and 31:05 of average ice time, mitigating the absence of Heiskanen.

"We need it," DeBoer said. "We've got some guys with some big minutes on them. But also, the way we ended the season, I think we played three games in the last week prior to the playoffs, and Colorado was off pretty much that whole week. It's a little bit of catch up for us."

Robertson isn't close to returning. But what if the Stars get Heiskanen back soon? He showed progress Wednesday.

"He's doing more," DeBoer said. "He ran our power play at pregame skate. He got into some 2-on-2 stuff at the end of practice, which is the start of some contact. But it's honestly … I would call it day to day now, but it's all on how his body reacts to what we've done on the previous day."

These are two great teams. This is still a super-tight series that could go either way. But the Avalanche no longer have the advantage.

Pick against the Stars at your peril.