Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin, left, flips the puck over Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a goal in the third period of Game 6 of their NHL first-round playoff series on Thursday in Denver. (AP photo)

DALLAS (AP) — Pete DeBoer has never lost a Game 7 as an NHL coach. Jared Bednar has never won one.

They will be on opposite benches when the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche play what seems like the only fitting end for their first-round series in this year’s NHL playoffs — a Game 7 tonight.

“Honestly, Jared Bednar and I are not going to have a big impact on this game,” DeBoer said. “The players are going to decide that. Both teams know each other. It’s who goes out and executes and gets big games from the right guys.”

Still, there are a lot of different records that align heavily toward the Stars, who will be at home for a Game 7 for the third season in a row.

• DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s with four different teams, including each of the past two postseasons since getting to Dallas and reaching the Western Conference Final both times. No other coach has won more Game 7s, with Darryl Sutter 8-3 in them.

• Bednar is 0-3 in Game 7s, all with the Avalanche, who have lost six in a row since 2002. He is also 0-3 overall in playoff series against DeBoer, including a seven-game loss in the second round to San Jose in 2019.

• The Stars are 3-0 against Colorado in Game 7s, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals after each of those. The two teams went seven games in the Western Conference Final in both 1999 and 2000. Then in the second round of the pandemic-impacted 2020 playoffs inside the Canadian bubble, the deciding game was tied four times before then-Stars rookie and current Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta completed a hat trick with an overtime goal that gave Dallas a 5-4 win.

This will be the 199th time a Game 7 has happened in the NHL playoffs, and the first this season.

“Personally not surprised it’s going to Game 7,” said Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen, who has been traded twice since being with the Avs in the playoffs the past seven seasons, including their 2022 Stanley Cup title. “It’s two really good teams, and it’s good for the hockey world to see this series.”

Colorado avoided elimination with a 7-4 win in Game 6, getting some fortunate and fluky bounces at home Thursday night.