DALLAS -- The Colorado Avalanche combined for 1,177 games of experience in the Stanley Cup Playoffs entering Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round. Their starting goalie, however, had zero. A big question, at least on the outside, was how Mackenzie Blackwood would handle it.

Nathan MacKinnon had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period before adding an empty-netter late as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Saturday night.

Dallas beat Colorado in a six-game series in the second round of last season’s playoffs. They'll meet in a first-round matchup beginning on Saturday night.