With just under 8:20 remaining in the second overtime of Game 6 on Friday night, Matt Duchene connected with the back of the net, sending the Dallas Stars to the Western Conference Finals and the Colorado Avalanche back home.
Immediately after the game-winning goal, Duchene took off down the ice and broke out the heartbreaker celebration.
WHO ELSE COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
MATT DUCHENE WINS IT FOR DALLAS. THE STARS ARE GOING TO THE WCF pic.twitter.com/DFbjHp0ew8
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 18, 2024
Although Duchene, who was a draft pick of the Avs back in 2009, drew the heart and punched it in, he claimed to be too exhausted to even realize what he had done.
“Just elation,” Duchene said, via FOX4. “I was so tired, I started skating and then I got tired. I don’t even know what I did after that, to be honest with you. I was pretty pumped up.”
Back in the locker room, the Stars continued to rub it in, playing “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver.
For Dallas, it’s their second straight trip to the Western Conference Finals. They’ll take on either the Edmonton Oilers or Vancouver Canucks, who will play their own Game 6 on Saturday night. The Canucks currently lead the series, 3-2.
“The dream’s still alive,” Stars forward Joe Pavelski said, via Spectrum News 1.
Duchene can enjoy ousting his former team for a few more days and then the focus shifts to the next round.
