Necas Scores Twice as Avs Beat Stars Without Makar

No Cale Makar. No problem for Martin Necas. The Colorado Avalanche forward scored twice Tuesday night in Dallas, including a five-on-three finish, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 shots as Colorado beat the Stars 3-2 in the opener of a home-and-home with their Norris Trophy defenseman home awaiting the birth of twins.

Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring. Nathan MacKinnon stacked two assists. Noah Juulsen, the depth defenseman who drew in for Makar, blocked a Jamie Benn one-timer late. The Avalanche improved to 4-2-0 and flew home with a chance to sweep the mini-set Wednesday at Ball Arena.

How Necas took over

Lehkonen buried a backhand from the slot at 11:32 of the first for a 1-0 lead. Tyler Seguin tied it on the power play late in the period when a pass from above the goal line deflected in. Necas answered early in the second with a spin-and-fire one-timer from the high slot off MacKinnon's backhand feed, his third goal of the season.

Then came the dagger. On a five-on-three, Gabriel Landeskog found Necas at the left doorstep for another one-timer at 16:14 of the second, Necas's second of the night and fifth of the year. Blackwood protected the lead with a glove save on Sam Steel's breakaway and another stop on Justin Hryckowian before Roope Hintz cut it to 3-2 early in the third.

"I'm really happy with our game," coach Jared Bednar said. "I liked to see Mackenzie bounce back after the Leafs game. He had a great night. Probably his best performance of the year. It was a hard-fought game for this time of the year. The most physical game that we've played."

Makar watch continues

Makar sat so he could stay with his wife, Tracy, as they await twins. Devon Toews and Sam Malinski handled big minutes on the blue line Tuesday. Bednar had left the door open for a possible return in the rematch depending on how the birth went, and Avalanche fans will refresh that update all day Wednesday.

For Stars fans, a Makar-less Colorado group was supposed to be the soft spot. Necas and Blackwood slammed that door shut for one night. For Avalanche fans, the math is simple: take the two points on the road, hope the twins arrive healthy, and roll the dice again at home.

Rematch at Ball Arena

Colorado hosts Dallas on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. MDT on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max. That is the second half of the home-and-home, and the subplot writes itself. If Makar is still out, Necas just showed he can carry a bigger share. If Makar is back, the Avalanche get their engine and a chance to stack wins against a Central rival. Either way, Tuesday proved the supporting cast is not waiting around for a birth announcement to start scoring.