The Dallas Stars were a man down 80 seconds into the third period when Arttu Hyry finally got the finish he had been chasing.
Mikko Rantanen had gone to the penalty box for tripping at 0:21 of the period, with the score 1-1 at Ball Arena. On the ensuing kill, Hyry picked off a Cale Makar play at the Dallas blue line. He then outraced the Colorado defenseman up the ice, pulled the puck from his forehand to his backhand and slid it past Scott Wedgewood's glove at 1:20.
The unassisted goal was Hyry's first of the season and put Dallas ahead 2-1. Colorado tied it later in the period, and the Stars won 3-2 when Roope Hintz scored in the fourth round of the shootout.
Asked about the move, Hyry pointed to home. "My dad used to always tell me to do that move, so I guess it was maybe just instinct," he told NHL.com.
Chances that had not fallen
The goal had been coming, by Hyry's own account. "I feel like I've had a lot of chances recently and just haven't been able to score them," he said. "So felt nice to finally be able to put one in."
He had one of those looks in the first period. At 8:29, with the game still scoreless, Wedgewood stopped his shot from the right slot on a rush, according to the Avalanche's game log. Hintz said afterward that his teammate had earned the breakthrough, noting how many quality opportunities Hyry had produced without a finish.
Hyry finished with the goal, two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating in 14:40, per the Hockey-Reference box score, which also logged 12 of his zone starts in the Dallas end and two in Colorado's.
Makar, the player Hyry stripped, had sat out Tuesday's 3-2 Colorado win in Dallas after his twins were born. He returned Wednesday and logged 22:54 with two shots and a plus-1. "It was a little bit different with the morning, that's for sure," Makar said, per NHL.com.
