The Dallas Stars celebrate a goal by Mason Marchment during the second period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, April 28, 2025, in Dallas.

Johnston’s record-setting starter goal came off the opening faceoff, when he shot from the immediate left of the net. The 21-year-old forward already in his 43rd career playoff game was skating toward the back wall and passing the red line when he took the shot that ricocheted off Blackwood.

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.