Cale Makar spent the offseason mentally emptying his trophy case.

The Norris, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup. Forget about all of them.

“I’m not focused on anything accolade wise, at all. Everybody keeps asking me: How are going to top next year?” Makar said into a microphone at the beginning of Avalanche training camp. “It’s not about that for me. I just want to kind of be the same player. Play my game and make sure that I can contribute on both ends of the ice for my team every single night.”

Makar, entering his fourth NHL season, took another step Monday night toward establishing a new championship legacy in a 3-1 preseason win at the Dallas Stars. He joined Avalanche regulars F Artturi Lehkonen, D Josh Manson, F Mikko Rantanen and D Devon Toews in their 2022 exhibition debuts. Colorado starts the regular season Oct. 12, with the Chicago Blackhawks visiting Ball Arena.

“I feel like the pace has just gone up and up throughout the entire camp. For me, it’s about getting the legs back and making sure the different game aspects come back. We’ll start doing that tonight in the game,” Makar told The Gazette after Colorado’s morning skate Monday. “It’s always exciting when you get to play games. I’m just ready to get back at it.”

Makar broke in the preseason well over 23:29 of ice time against Dallas. He took a high-stick to the face early in the third period and returned to play. Colorado took advantage on the power-play and Lehkonen broke a scoreless stalemate with a slapper past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. Lehkonen added another goal later in the third period.

The Avs tout arguably the NHL’s top defensive paring in Makar and Toews. They combined for 143 points (41 goals) last regular season.

“I don’t think we’re worried about how many (exhibition) games we play or how few we play,” Toews said before the start of training camp. “We have 82 games during the year, too, to get ready for the big test — which is the playoffs. Obviously, we have to get there first and get to the playoffs. But we have time to get our game in order.”

The Avalanche have one preseason game remaining — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Dallas at Ball Arena — before embarking on their Stanley Cup defense.

Gamer Box

What happened: The Avalanche defeated the Stars, 3-1, in an exhibition game Monday night at American Airlines Arena (Dallas).

On the attack: Dallas outshot the Avs, 39 to 30. Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen scored twice in the third period. He was assisted by Mikko Rantanen, Ben Meyers, Evan Rodrigues and Jayson Megna. Dallas defenseman Nils Lundkvist ended the Stars’ scoring drought in the third period. Rodrigues scored an empty-netter with 8 seconds left in regulation.

In the net: Pavel Francouz was stellar making 38-of-39 saves for the Avalanche. Dallas started Jake Oettinger in net and he made 27-of-30 saves.

Star of the night: Lehkonen’s two-goal night is a promising sign entering the season. He might play a first-line role with injured forward Gabe Landeskog (lower body) still working his way back into the fold.

What’s next: The Avalanche close their preseason at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena.