April 29 (UPI) -- Wyatt Johnston needed just nine seconds to make an impact, scoring the fastest playoff goal in Dallas Stars history to spark a 6-2 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Johnston went on to score again in the second period and earned an assist in the 6-2 victory Monday in Dallas. The Stars used the Game 5 win to take a 3-2 series lead.
"I just saw a little opening and figured, why not? Let's try it," Johnston told reporters. "Lucky enough, it went in."
Mikko Rantanen logged a goal and two assists. Fellow stars forward Roope Hintz also scored and earned an assist. Defenseman Thomas Harley and forward Mason Marchment also scored for the Stars. Goaltender Jake Oettinger made 26 saves.
"I'm not surprised by our response," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said, when asked about a rebound from a Game 4 loss. "We've got a proud group.
"I think they feed off people doubting them."
Johnston started the first scoring sequence by leading the Stars in the opening draw. Defenseman Cody Ceci then chased down a loose puck and dumped it down the ice.
Johnston flew up the right flank, collected the puck off the boards and blasted a narrow-angle shot toward the near post. The puck somehow found a gap behind goalie Mackenzie Blackwood just nine seconds into the night for an early Stars edge.
Harley doubled the Stars advantage with a wrist shot with 45 seconds remaining in the first period. Rantanen made the score 3-0 just 72 seconds into the second.
Avalanche forwards Arturri Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in a span of about three minutes to tighten the score, but Johnston answered with a power-play goal with 3:12 remaining in the bridge frame.
Marchment added an insurance goal less than two minutes later. Hintz scored an empty-netter for the final goal of the night with 2:05 remaining.
The Stars (3-2) will take on the Avalanche (2-3) in Game 6 on Thursday in Denver. Game 7, if necessary, will be Saturday in Dallas.
