The longtime rivals’ first-round series is knotted at 2-2 after the Avs bounced back from two straight OT losses with a statement Game 4 win in which the Stars were blanked on the scoreboard and fell 4-0. The series now returns to Dallas and the confines of the American Airlines Center.

It would be hard not to compare and contrast the current state of the Avalanche to what the organization faced after Game 4 against the Dallas Stars a season ago.