Top storylines to watch in Friday's pair of Game 7s

Clear your schedules and get your popcorn ready, folks, we've got two Game 7s on our hands Friday evening.

First, the Colorado Avalanche will take on the Dallas Stars, and then the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights will battle to determine who meets the first game's winner in the Western Conference Final.

These will be the first Game 7s of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's rather surprising we've reached this point, as the Golden Knights and Stars held 3-1 series leads.

As the saying goes, anything can happen in a Game 7, so expect the unexpected. That said, here are some key storylines to monitor in each game that could have a major impact on which teams live to see another day.

Hutchinson's heroics

Of everything that's unfolded in 2020, Michael Hutchinson stealing a playoff series could be the most unexpected turn of events. The 30-year-old is the Avs' third-string netminder but has risen to the occasion since being forced to start Game 5 after Pavel Francouz's injury.

Hutchinson - who had previously never made a postseason start - stopped 58 of 62 Dallas shots in his two wins this series. His sudden resurgence comes after he posted a dreadful .886 save percentage and 3.66 goals-against average across 15 appearances as a backup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There have been several instances in NHL history where an unheralded goalie has carried their team to playoff success, but Hutchinson leading the Avalanche on a run would be one of the unlikeliest the league has ever seen. It's hard not to be impressed by the journeyman backup, who's played for four different teams over seven seasons. He's authoring a legitimate feel-good story and can earn some future security as a pending unrestricted free agent if he keeps it up.

Demko's dominance

With the Golden Knights holding a 3-1 series lead and All-Star netminder Jacob Markstrom suddenly unfit to play, the Canucks appeared dead in the water. Enter Thatcher Demko, who put Vancouver on his back in victories in Games 5 and 6.

Demko was the Canucks' backup all season and posted a .906 save percentage in 27 appearances. He made 43 saves in Game 5, followed by a 48-stop shutout Thursday in Game 6. Vegas heavily outplayed Vancouver in each of its attempts to close out the series, but Demko has been unflappable against consistent barrages from the Golden Knights' offense.

In a one-game, winner-take-all situation, there's perhaps no greater advantage than a red-hot goaltender, so the Canucks have to be feeling confident they can pull off the upset against the top-seeded Golden Knights.

If Demko does it again, it may set up a Cinderella matchup with Hutchinson for a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. File that one in the "who would have thought?" department.

Who starts for Vegas?

While Vancouver and Colorado ride waves of unforeseen goalie magic, Vegas finds itself embroiled in a controversy between the pipes with its season on the line.

The sword picture Marc-Andre Fleury's agent tweeted at the outset of the series would hardly register as a story now if Robin Lehner had found a way to close out the series. In Vancouver's two most recent wins, Lehner has an .872 save percentage against only 39 shots. Does Peter DeBoer hope his No. 1 can find his game again in short order, or does he turn to Fleury as he did for the club's last back-to-back set?

Despite owning a .893 save percentage in three appearances in the bubble, Fleury does have a case to earn the start. The veteran goaltender has more experience in high-leverage postseason games, including multiple Game 7 victories. He's also 12-2-2 lifetime against the Canucks.

MacKinnon's magic

Nathan MacKinnon's been the most exciting player to watch this postseason. He's willed the Avalanche to several wins this summer and will look to do so again in Game 7.

The MVP finalist is scorching hot. He tied Bobby Orr and Mark Messier for the second-longest point streak to start a postseason with an assist in Game 6. MacKinnon also became the first player to record 25 points in his team's first 14 postseason games since Wayne Gretzky in 1992-93.

The 25-year-old's game has developed into appointment viewing, and hockey fans can only hope he's got another virtuoso performance up his sleeve for his club's biggest contest of the season.

Can Stars' top line reappear?

It's been a Jekyll and Hyde series thus far for the Stars' top producers. Dallas' top trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov combined for just one point in the club's last two games after racking up 17 in the previous four contests.

There's no question the Stars' big guns need to step up Friday night, especially against the MacKinnon line, which has shown no signs of slowing down.

"We can win games as a line," Seguin said after Game 6, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

Dallas can help its top players make an impact by staying out of the penalty box. The Stars gave the Avalanche six power plays in Game 5 and five in Game 6, significantly limiting their top line's ice time.